O. Henry Quotes

You cannot build up a character in a solitude; you need a formed character to stand a solitude.

Heights of the spirit can only be climbed by passing through the portals of humility.

The more something upsets you, the more it is meant for you. When it no longer upsets you, it is no longer needed because the lesson is complete.

What happens outwardly in your life is not as important as what happens inside you. Your circumstances are temporary, but your character will last forever.

Each character represented a trait that resides in me.

Only by joy and sorrow does a person know anything about themselves and their destiny. They learn what to do and what to avoid.

That's the way I try to live. I think it's the only way for human beings at this point in our evolution as souls, where everyone in their lifetime is going through stuff.

I know how strong I am mentally, how I work on myself.

Many of us don’t realize that we have a choice about which aspect of ourselves we will use as the foundation upon which we build our lives.

It takes courage...to endure the sharp pains of self discovery rather than choose to take the dull pain of unconsciousness that would last the rest of our lives.

The shape of your character is the shape of your future.

That tide of insecurity would come in and out over the years, sometimes stranding me for a while but occasionally lifting me just beyond what I thought I could acomplish. Either way, it would wash over the same bedrock certainty: ultimately, I know myself.

Maturity is a compound of wisdom, goodwill, resilience, and creativity.

The only way to do something truly important every day is to seek to understand yourself every day.

A person's strength is to know their weaknesses.

It's important to know what you're going to spend your life on, and the only way you're going to find that is by connecting with the force inside yourself.

I don't think you learn as much about yourself when you are moving forwards as when you have fallen backwards. That's when you really learn who you are. And reach for the things that have propelled you forward and made you a better person.

The course of our lives is determined by how we react--what we decide and what we do--at the darkest of times. The nature of that response determines a person's true worth and greatness.

... the deep experience of the lonely climb on the mountain of success brings a wealth beyond power to compute. To you all suffering is understandable and your heart opens wide in sympathy.

That is why success and fruitfulness depend as much upon focusing on the "who" you are as much as the "what" of the work you do. Invest in your character, and it will give you the returns that you are looking for by only investing in the work itself. You can't do the latter without the former.

Character - Some day, you will be wrestling with the great temptation, or trembling under the great sorrow of your life. But the real struggle is here, now, in these quiet weeks. Now it is being decided whether, in the day of your supreme sorrow or temptation, you shall miserably fail or gloriously conquer. Character cannot be made except by a steady, long-continued process.

It's a real luxury to be able to develop with your character.

The secret to living a strong life is right in front of you, calling to you every day. It can be found in your emotional reaction to specific moments in your life.

So, I guess we are who we are for alot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.

But in my heart I knew that just like the new grass, I wasn't strong enough yet to be walked on