This is a excerpt from the graduation speech that John Roberts, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, delivered at his son’s high school in Cardigan on 3 June 2017: From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty....

Edith and her sister Magda achieved what seemed impossible: to get out of Auschwitz alive. They survived the most lethal Nazi concentration and extermination camp, where nearly one million people died. But they were not free. Not yet. When Nazi Germany was on the verge of defeat, the SS organized “death marches”, forced evacuations of concentration camps over long distances under guard and extremely harsh conditions. Edith and Magda were moved to other concentration camps like Mauthausen, where prisoners were made to hack and carry granite to construct Hitler’s desired new capital for Germany....

Right after arriving at Auschwitz, Edith and her mother and sister were waiting in the selection line. They didn’t know it, but this would be their last moment together. While Edith and her sister Magda were sent to the left, their mother was sent to the right. When Edith, just sixteen, entered the camp and asked where her mother was, one of the women dressed in striped dresses pointed to the smoke rising up from one of the chimneys in the distance....

When I started university, I met a girl. She was funny, pretty, and kind, and I completely fell in love with her. It was an amazing feeling. The problem was that I was very shy and introverted, and sometimes connecting with others wasn’t easy. Because I didn’t have confidence in myself, and I was the only one who seemed to have this issue, I assumed that something was wrong with me....

Edith Eger is a hero of mine. She was born in 1927 and grew up in Nazi-occupied Europe. When she was sixteen, Edith and her family were sent to Auschwitz. She and her sister Magda survived, but their parents and nearly everyone she loved did not. When the Nazi concentration camps were liberated, she was discovered under a pile of dead bodies. Edith was severely malnourished, and had a broken back, pneumonia, and typhoid fever, among others....

In 1914, Ernest Shackleton chose one of the most audacious goals at that time: make the first land crossing of the Antarctic continent. It was inconceivable that a group of people could do that. And they failed, but are not remembered as a failure—quite the opposite. Just a couple of months after their departure, Shackleton’s trip, the Endurance, became trapped in ice and eventually sank. They spent several months in the harsh Antarctic, isolated from human civilization, trying to survive under extreme conditions with temperatures reaching minus 40º and winds reaching up to 200 km/h....

Do difficult things every day. Step out of your comfort zone daily because that will callous your mind. Sounds good, so I researched cold showers and discovered they have been shown to have several benefits, including reduced inflammation, reduced stress levels, boosted energy, increased immunity, and enhanced focus, among others. And because I considered them as self-imposed torture, I decided to take cold showers every morning. Then, everything went differently than planned....

You who are passing by I beg you Do something Learn a dance step Something to justify your existence Something that gives you the right To be dressed in your skin in your body Learn to walk and to laugh Because it would be too senseless After all For many to have died While you live Doing nothing with your life Auschwitz survivor Charlotte

Feeling ready to do something does not mean feeling certain that you’ll succeed, though of course that’s what you are hoping to do. Truly being ready means understanding what could go wrong – and having a plan to deal with it. Chris Hadfield, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth Eliud Kipchoge is considered the greatest marathon runner of all time. As with the most iconic athletes, the principles and values they embody are far more relevant than their achievements....