A man needs a pole star—a fixed reference point to orient his life. When he has that everything falls into place. It can be anything really: Christianity, Buddhism, Stoicism, or create your own. Careful: when a man finds his reference point you may not like it. Steadfast men aren’t controlled by tears, anger, or approval.
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The key to every man is his thought. Sturdy and defying though he look, he has a helm which he obeys, which is the idea after which all his facts are classified. He can only be reformed by showing him a new idea which commands his own.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, CirclesEach man must look to himself to teach him the meaning of life. It is not something discovered: it is something moulded.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wind, Sand, and Stars