Quotes from Louis Zamperini

I've accepted Christ as my Savior.

When there's no further hope, men always look up.

Positive self-esteem must be preceded by self-respect. To get self-respect you have to do something good.

Many people reject Christ because they feel they can't live a Christian life. Well, nobody can live a Christian life—without help." I thought when you accepted Christ you had to be perfect, but he said, "Christ has promised to help you. He said, 'I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. If you have problems in life, cast all your cares on me, for I care for you.

One day we were fighting for our lives, the next we were enjoying the clouds, the sunset, the soaring albatross, the dolphins and porpoises. Through it all I never lost my sense that life could be beautiful. I kept my zest for living, morning and night. I'd made it this far and refused to give up because all my life I had always finished the race.

the mind is a crucial line of defense against adversity.

One moment of pain is worth a lifetime of glory

I wonder what they'd do if they knew the truth about my high life and my low life and all the demons in between.

VERY FEW PEOPLE really understand the difficulties of accepting Christianity. The picture painted by the well-meaning is that after a conversion God gives the new believer a steady diet of happiness and all is immediately well. Nothing of the sort is true. On the contrary, like every other sincere person who is striving to believe in spite of having so long lived another way with a mind conditioned to cynicism, I had to go through a period of despondency, doubt, and painful self-examination.

By the way, I didn't win the 5000-meter race at the Olympics, but making the team and not winning is like going to the moon and stumbling over a rock and falling. So what? You're still on the moon.

If you cling to the axe you're grinding, eventually you'll only hurt yourself.

To whom much has been given, much is expected

I had finally come full circle. Except for continuing to tell my story and spreading the Word, a great part of my life was over: the delinquency, the running, the war, the imprisonment, the drinking, the nightmares, the greediness and desperation, the unhappiness. I was completely satisfied with my test of forgiveness and more than ready to move on.

I've gone through my life drawing from my experiences both positive and negative to try and influence others for the good.

There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not," Dr. Graham said. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us," and I sat straight up in my seat. How had he known what was in my mind? Then he said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?

The Bible says all things work together for good, for those who love the Lord.

I just knew that no matter how bad the pain, I had to keep going.

If you try to stand alone, you're going to fall. The Lord says, 'Cast all your cares upon me'—in other words, lean your entire weight on me—'and I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.

Before, as much as the hate poisoned me, I think it gave me a kind of satisfaction. I believed hating was the same as getting even, but those I hated didn't even know my feelings. All I did was destroy myself with my hate.

Louie in his early eighties. "I think my skateboarding shakes up a few people. Some stop their cars to be sure their eyes aren't deceiving them.

My forgiveness was so authentic and total that I looked forward to seeing each of them. I longed to look into their eyes and say not only "I forgive you," but to tell them of the greatest event of forgiveness the world has ever known when Christ on the Cross, and at the peak of his agony, could say of his executioners, "Forgive them father, for they know not what they do.

I thought I had problems, but now, knowing what you went through, I've stopped feeling sorry for myself. I'm going to quit tearing myself apart and treat my problems more lightly.