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Forgiveness is just another name for freedom.

Byron Katie

Speaker and author Byron Katie regularly encourages us to look inside and ask ourselves the hard questions in order to grow as people. She refers to it as “The Work,” a process that helps us to confront stressful thoughts and feelings and eliminate them from our lives. With anger, in particular, whether it’s directed at ourselves or someone else, we’re held captive by those negative emotions. Until we forgive whatever caused the hurt, we’ll never be free from that negativity. So forgiveness actually becomes a form of self-care, allowing us to move forward unencumbered, to enjoy the freedom and lightness that comes from letting go.

In the depths of Winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.

Albert Camus

French Algerian writer Albert Camus grappled with many philosophical questions, including the meaning of life and how to weather its difficulties. In novels, plays, and essays, the Nobel Prize winner explored the depths, heights, and wonders of our existence. This quote was penned in a series of essays published in 1968, in which Camus urged humankind to persevere through adversity. In this volume, he wrote about recovering from World War II: “We must mend what has been torn apart” and “give happiness a meaning once more.” While Camus’ words on resilience were inspired by the specific struggles of his era, his hopefulness and belief that light outlives the dark is timeless.

If you invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Arguably the most influential architect of the 20th century, Frank Lloyd Wright believed passionately in the importance of beautiful buildings that complemented the natural environment. Drawing on his love for the landscapes of Wisconsin, where he spent much of his youth, he created a uniquely American style known as organic architecture. Many of his more than 1,000 building designs feature wide-open spaces, large windows, and an emphasis on horizontal rather than vertical construction. He was also an early adopter of green building practices such as solar heating and natural cooling. Wright once said he wanted to create architecture that “belonged where you see it standing” and was a “grace to the landscape.” His passionate belief that our living and work spaces should and could be beautiful made a lasting impression on architecture around the world.

Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.

Ella Fitzgerald

A quarter century after her death, the timeless legacy of Ella Fitzgerald, the “First Lady of Song," endures. She triumphed over cultural roadblocks and personal struggles, and paved the way for other Black performers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald was born in racially segregated Virginia in 1917 and had a tumultuous youth. Then, after an amateur audition at Harlem’s Apollo Theatre in 1934, she found a true home on the stage. Fitzgerald said, "I felt the acceptance and love from my audience. I knew I wanted to sing before people the rest of my life." She went on to build a successful solo career, while also teaming up with greats like Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Count Basie. Her passion for music, her beautiful and unique jazz singing style, and her ability to connect with the audience led her to win 13 Grammys, including the first awarded to a Black woman. Her wise words and illustrious career remind us of the power of doing what we love.

I can be someone’s and still be my own.

Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstein’s life philosophy imbued his vast body of work. The poet, artist, playwright, best-selling author, and Grammy-winning songwriter slipped this insight into a conversation between anthropomorphized shapes in his picture book “The Missing Piece.” Published in 1976, the book follows a Pac-Man-precursing figure on an epic search for its lost segment. Upon rolling into a complementary chunk’s path, the protagonist tentatively asks, “Maybe you want to be your own piece?” The piece responds by asserting its agency. Silverstein was advocating for audiences of any age — including his then-six-year-old daughter — to build identities beyond their connections with others.

If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.

Shirley Chisholm

Shirley Chisholm, the first Black U.S. congresswoman and first Black candidate to make a bid for a major party presidential nomination, invited herself to many tables of power. A teacher by training, she represented New York state in the House of Representatives from 1968 to 1983. While she did not win the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972, she ran a spirited campaign with the slogan, “Unbought and Unbossed.” She was also a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and active in the NAACP. Throughout her life, Chisholm fought for the rights of women and people of color. She did not wait for permission to stand up for her community, and encouraged others who were underrepresented to take their own rightful place in government.

The only difference between success and failure is the ability to take action.

Alexander Graham Bell

A Scottish-born American inventor, Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) is famous for introducing the world to the telephone. In 1876, after placing his first phone call to his assistant in the next room, Bell filed what is widely thought to be the most valuable patent in history. With this quote, the inventor extols the virtue of action, reminding us that no failure remains such, if we keep working to turn it into a success.

Education must not simply teach work - it must teach Life.

W.E.B. Du Bois

W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) was the first Black American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University, and he went on to be a founding member of the NAACP. This quote is pulled from an influential essay Du Bois published in 1903 in response to what he, and several other Black thought leaders of the time, saw as an overemphasis on industrial training for people of color. He feared that without multidisciplinary education, Black Americans would be forever relegated to second-class citizenry, barred from higher levels of leadership in both business and politics. “Work alone will not [uplift a people],” he wrote, “unless inspired by the right ideals and guided by intelligence.” The sentiment is as true today as it was in 1903.

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

Seneca

The philosopher Seneca contributed largely to an ancient Roman school of thought called Stoicism: the idea that, in life, some things are under our control, and some are not. Seneca’s quote here reminds us that we cannot dictate circumstance, but we can work hard and train in our chosen vocation so that when opportunity presents itself, we’re ready.

If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.

Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf, a celebrated 20th-century English writer, wrote often about truth, including this quote from a lecture she gave in 1940. In the lecture, she examined the circumstances and characteristics that form great writers. One virtue in her mind that stood above the rest was truth. Woolf believed that honesty breeds creativity, but the writer must tell all truths, including the unpleasant ones. It's difficult to openly paint ourselves as petty, vain, mean, selfish, unfaithful, or unsuccessful. But only after we take an honest look at ourselves are we able to see the truth in others.