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A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.

Francis Bacon

With this quote, Lord Francis Bacon reminds us that success is rarely achieved by happenstance, but rather by taking action. A British lawyer, statesman, and philosopher born in 1561, Bacon wrote extensively on the topics of ethics, politics, and religion. Under the rule of King James I, Bacon achieved England’s highest political office of Lord Chancellor. This quote encapsulates his attitude on ambition and has been a rallying cry of self-made women and men for hundreds of years. 

Love is a tenacious adventure.

Alain Badiou

This line from Alain Badiou’s 2012 book “In Praise of Love” is followed by the author’s insistence that “the adventurous side is necessary, but equally so is the need for tenacity.” Born in France in 1937, Badiou explored the idea of love as a magnificent undertaking that forever changes the two individuals who choose to persist through the challenges they will inevitably encounter. Love, he argued, is the much-needed antidote to the self-interest that consumes so much of the world today; it is our greatest hope for connection and understanding. 

Optimism is a happiness magnet.

Mary Lou Retton

Displaying incredible perseverance, Mary Lou Retton overcame injury and etched her name into the annals of history in 1984 as the first U.S. Olympic gymnast to win individual all-around gold. Retton's feat — accomplished on home soil at the Los Angeles Summer Games — won the heart of a nation and even earned her a coveted spot on Wheaties cereal boxes. In her post-athletic career, she pivoted toward sharing the philosophies behind her success, including the power of positivity. Maintaining a can-do attitude is contagious, and will attract opportunity, joy, and the kind of people who can boost us up.

If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.

Jack Kornfield

Buddhist practitioner and author Jack Kornfield included this quote in his 1994 book, “Buddha’s Little Instruction Book” — and it was thereafter commonly misattributed to Gautama Buddha himself. One of the tenets of Buddhism is extending compassion to other people, but we also must remember to be compassionate with ourselves. It can be a very different thing to go easy on yourself when something goes wrong. Yet we can’t fully practice compassion until we turn it inward first.