"Work for a cause, not for applause. Live life to express, not to impress. Do not strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt." - unkown
My grandfather used to say (I have to roughly translate from German "Kein Schaden, der nicht irgendeinen Nutzen hat"): "There is nothing bad that doesn't hold at least a little good.", which has become my optimism mantra. Most situations, however bad, can be looked at that way and most often you can find a positive aspect.