Cancer has given me a dose of humility. I'm much more empathetic. It's a club I would rather not have joined, but it is a club.
Interpretation
Cancer has taught me humility and empathy through my experience.
In this quote, Tom Brokaw reflects on how his battle with cancer has profoundly changed his perspective on life. He acknowledges that, despite the hardships of having cancer, it has fostered a greater sense of empathy and understanding towards others, suggesting that difficult experiences can lead to personal growth and a deeper connection with those who face similar struggles.
In practice
During a speech about overcoming challenges, one could reference this quote to illustrate the transformative power of hardship.
The WWII generation shares so many common values: duty, honor, country, personal responsibility and the marriage vow " For better or for worse--it was the last generation in which, broadly speaking, marriage was a commitment and divorce was not an option
Your grandparents came of age in the Great Depression, when everyday life was about deprivation and sacrifice, when the economic conditions of the time were so grave and so unrelenting it would have been easy enough for the American dream to fade away.
While Pickstown may not be what it once was, it still is framed by the natural beauty of the ancient river, the sweep of the Great Plains, and the long, unbroken shoreline of the lake behind the dam. It gave me a 19th-century childhood in a modern mid-20th-century town, and for that I will always be grateful.
I am simply the most conspicuous part of a large, thoroughly dedicated and professional staff that extends from just behind these cameras, across this country and around the world, in too many instances, in places of grave danger and personal hardship. They're family to me.
I had good care going. I had Meredith and the family. And I didn't want to become the object of some kind of pity, most of all. I didn't want to show up on the Internet, 'Tom Brokaw has cancer.'
Heroes are people who rise to the occasion and slip quietly away.
Kids are great. That's one of the best things about our business, all the kids you get to meet. It's a shame they have to grow up to be regular people and come to the games and call you names.
Buy the ticket, take the ride.
The worst thing in the world is to try to sleep and not to.
The twenty minutes or more we spend inside the ring, that's the fun part. It's the rest of our lives that's the real battle - the ruthless backstage politics, the constant traveling, the endless mental and physical aches and pains.
Folks, I'm telling you, birthing is hard and dying is mean- so get yourself a little loving in between.
If you don't want to live a life where you go to a job every day just so you can enjoy your weekends and get two weeks of vacation every year, then don't do it.
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