Ups and downs in life are very important to keep us going, because a straight line even in an ECG means we are not alive.

Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity.

Even if you have a terminal disease, you don't have to sit down and mope. Enjoy life and challenge the illness that you have.

The challenge of life, I have found, is to build a resume that doesn't simply tell a story about what you want to be, but it's a story about who you want to be.

God is still around. One day, you're going to need him. The problems of life will begin to overwhelm you; disappointments will begin to beat upon the door of your life like a tidal wave. And if you don't have a deep and patient faith, you aren't going to be able to make it. I know this from my own experience.

The path, of course, is not always smooth, and may at times this year have felt quite bumpy, but small steps can make a world of difference.