Had this gem just come to mind, completely out of the blue.
A mysterious voice exclaimed to me as I was reflecting on recent events this morning:
Voice: "Your wisdom knows no bounds."
Me: "What are you talking about? It knows it's bounds. It just doesn't give a fuck about them. It's using those bounds as a benchmark for exceeding them."
EDIT:
Just got blindsided with this one as I was complementing someone's work (thanks brain!):
"You're so good at what you do, even when you sucked terribly, and failed epically (especially to your own standards); you still did better than everyone else."
(SUB-EDIT:
After failing a level in Retro/Grade hard, I still had a pretty decent ranking. Quite a number of players too. Sucked terribly, and I still did better than most-everyone else.)
That's a hell of a compliment if I ever heard one.
A good summary: "You rock so hard, that even your total failures are total victories."
EDIT EDIT:
Got another one:
"The true mark of a nice guy can be said as 'A man who volunteers to be the last off a sinking ship, and he's not even the captain of said ship.'; they willingly put themselves last, to ensure everyone is happy, healthy, and safe; before they can reap their own eventual, well-deserved, and hopefully inevitable, rewards." --Once more, from my own mind. Re-interpreting the phrase "Nice Guys finish last." in a more enlightening, more noble, way. (Definitely makes the Hell of being one feel more worth it. Instead of being burned, you're tempered; you're not rendered brittle, weak, and blunt by the fires of Hell; but instead, you're more flexible, stronger and sharper; forged by the fires of Hell, to be made as a weapon or shield worthy of Heaven's arsenal.)
That running across my mind helped cure me of any lament I had for being a "nice guy" for so many years. It instilled me with a new confidence that I can feel no shame in carrying. I mean, fuck it, I volunteered to be a saint; if I got disrespect for it, fuck them. I'm a nice person, but I am no fool. I know my self-worth, and I carry that with shameless, yet oddly humble, pride, and a well-deserved one while at it.
EDIT EDIT EDIT:
My mind won't shut up, it seems:
"Failure is always an option... provided you have the intent to do it epically."