“Real enemies usually reveal themselves and you dare to stand up to them because you know that is the right thing to do, but if you have false friends who are camouflaged on the exterior, you have to dare to stand up to them even more because they will hurt you deeper and more permanent than your real enemies.”

“If your understanding lacks the ability to explain what you understand to people of all ages, then you have not really understood.”

“All it takes is one lie to be disbelieved;All it takes is one cheat to be distrusted;All it takes is one bad word to be excluded;All it takes is one heartbreaking to be hated;All it takes is one breath to be alive;All it takes is one steal to be cast out;All it takes is one last push to be winner;All it takes is one gossip to be whisperer; All it takes is one espionage to be backstabber;All it takes is one call to be remembered;All it takes is one nice word to be included;All it takes is one thank you to be appreciated;All it takes is one lousy comment to be ignorant;All it takes is one severe error to be failure;All it takes is one misbehavior to be labeled;All it takes is one slaying to be evil;All it takes is one smile to be welcome;All it takes is one giving in to be surrendered for life;All it takes is one victory to be taken seriously;All it takes is one failure to be ridiculed and scorned;All it takes is one hope to be believer;All it takes is one promise to be counted on.”

“The happiest have found adult achievement arenas that do engage them, occasionally through the luck of good early choices, sometimes by leaving worn paths, and most often through exploring themselves and careers with the help of guides and sponsors.”

“A non-reader has no advantage over the blind; the former is someone who makes a personal choice to act in ignorance, whereas the latter is someone who is visually impaired.”

“Standing for even the smallest things as a start will enable you to stand for greater things in life.”

“You may have all the knowledge one can possibly acquire, but it is useless unless it is molded and transformed by the power of imagination.”

“Unlike any other organ in human body, the brain cells are stimulated by key ingredients like imagination, fantasy, creativity, craziness, courage, passion, and even nonsense. Without these, you have a brain with dead cells.”

“You cannot possibly live a million lives even if you were the world’s richest person alive, sure you can through books.”

“Dreams are just dreams, nothing is real about them; but if you forget to live in the real world, then even the most fictitious dreams will feel real.”

“Valedictorians were highly motivated to excel academically because of early family and school experiences.”

“Higher education, in contrast, did not always keep its promise to develop the talents of even its best students. Left with classroom achievement alone, many students never found a negotiable path to a clearly envisioned career corresponding to their deepest interests and values.”

“For all students, a network of career exploration opportunities, sponsors, and mentors is a critical accompaniment to coursework.”

“Are schools rewarding the right people as the highest achievers? If the goal is hard-working, productive, adaptable adults, then U.S. high schools are recognizing precisely the correct group.”

“Gunning for the milestone payments is the key to the success of a project.”