Aristotle

“Rise to the challenges that life presents you. You can't develop genuine character and ability by sidestepping adversity and struggle.”
― Daisaku Ikeda

“Life is painful. It has thorns, like the stem of a rose. Culture and art are the roses that bloom on the stem. The flower is yourself, your humanity. Art is the liberation of the humanity inside yourself.”
― Daisaku Ikeda

“Worthy persons deserve to be called so because they are not carried away by the eight winds: prosperity,decline,disgrace,honor,praise,censure,suffering, and pleasure.They are neither elated by prosperity nor grieved by decline. The heavenly gods will surely protect one who is unbending before the eight winds.”
― Nichiren Daishonin, The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 5