Perseverance

Failure or any kind of setback is not a destination. There was something good about being knocked down, as long as it wasn't your destination.

There will be blind alleys and one-night wonders and soul-crushing jobs and wake-up calls and crises of confidence and moments of transcendence when you are walking down the street and someone will thank you for telling your story because it resonated with their own.

You have to be willing to fight for what you believe in. Washington is full of people who say no, and who are saying it in nastier and nastier ways. But knowing who you are will help you when it's time to fight.

You will be defined not just by what you achieve, but by how you survive.

Potential just means you haven't done it yet.

If you know what you're capable of, if you're always prepared, and you keep things in perspective, then life has a way of turning no into yes.

You shouldn't let failure define you, but instead you should let failure refine you.

The stumbler doesn't build her life by being better than others, but by being better than she used to be.

Cynicism is easy. Anyone can do it. Change is hard. That takes us.

Get ready for my generation to tell you everything that can't be done. They should know — they can't be done. After all, we're the ones who didn't do them.

Rejection might sting, but my feeling is that it often has very little to do with you.

The road to success is a long, winding road that is littered with wreckages of promising careers that crashed and burned. It's not a pretty thing to see talent wasted, it's even sadder to waste it yourself.