Up to a point a man's life is shaped by environment, heredity, and the movements and changes in the world around him. Then there comes a time when it lies within his grasp to shape the clay of his life into the sort of thing he wishes to be. Only the weak blame parents, their race, their times, lack of good fortune, or the quirks of fate. Everyone has it within his power to say, 'This I am today; that I will be tomorrow.' The wish, however, must be implemented by deeds.
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When I was a small boy I often went to the woods to lie on the grass in the shade. Somehow I had come to believe the earth could give me wisdom, but it did not. Yet I learned a little about animals and learned it is not always brave to make a stand. It is often foolish. There is a time for courage and a time for flight.
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A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner, so if one's life is cold and bare he can blame none but himself.
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Trade is much superior to piracy. You can rob and kill a man but once, but you can cheat him again and again.
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A good beginning makes a good end.
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There have always been hard times. There have always been wars and troubles
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