"I don't think I've ever been an agnostic. I've always thought there's a superior power, that this is not the real world and that there's a world to come."

"Money doesn't talk, it swears."

"The art of living is discovering that a mind at peace can weather any storm."

"A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom."

"Having a sense of purpose is having a sense of self. A course to plot is a destination to hope for."

"The true measure of a man is the canvas of tomorrow is painted with the actions of today."

"Fortitude is the quiet voice at eventide saying: I will try once more tomorrow. Reflect upon this whenever doubt clouds your horizon — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"It's possible that the 2012 general-election race will be the least overtly religious one since 1972, the last campaign before Roe v. Wade and the rise of Jimmy Carter brought evangelicalism into the political mainstream. That's because faith remains a complicated issue for Obama, who is still wrongly thought to be a Muslim in some quarters."