“Perhaps we think up our own destinies, and so in a sense deserve whatever happens to us, for not having had the wit to imagine something better.”

“God gave us free will so that we might choose our own destinies. He left it up to us to achieve them.”

“Delving into the past had unveiled a cruel lesson - that in the book of life it is perhaps best not to turn back pages; it was a path on which, whatever direction we took, we'd never be able to choose our own destiny.”

“I've learned something: What many of us cal destiny is really our own instinct. We know what is right, but we don'twant to admit it, especially if what is right will lead to our own death. We call it destiny so we don't have to accept responsibility for making those decisions. Human instinct is stronger than anyone will admit.”

“No one in this room is identical. We all have something unique to offer. It is the responsibility of each of us to realize what that is – to fulfill our destiny. Imagine the awesomeness – the potential we would have if we worked together for a change.”

“Stories are how we make sense of our lives. To tell a story is to own it: to own the narrative thread to own a piece of our past. And when we own a story when we put it in a tidy box and store it on a high shelf it becomes manageable so that whatever negative effects it's been having on us are in theory lessened.”