A muddied diamond is better than an unsullied pebble.

All the sugar was in the bottom of the cup. — Julia Ward Howe

I have often been adrift  but I have always stayed afloat. — David Berry

God helps those who persevere. — Koran

Gnaw your own bone  gnaw at it  bury it  unearth it  gnaw it still. — Henry David Thoreau

Like ships  men flounder time and time again. — Henry Miller

To strive  to seek  to find  and not to yield. — Alfred, Lord Tennyson

To keep a lamp burning we have to keep putting oil in it. — Mother Teresa

If you stop struggling  then you stop life. — Huey Newton

Never grow a wishbone  daughter  where your backbone ought to be. — Clementine Paddleford