Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.

Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonders, the unfailing childlike appetite for what’s next and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart, there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, courage and power from man and from the infinite, so long as you are young.

When your aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you’ve grown old, even at 20; but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there’s hope you may die young at 80.

青春不是芳华年少，而是一种心境；青春不是桃花红颜、盈盈朱唇、轻柔体态，而是积极的心志，丰富的想象，炙热的感情；青春是充满生机、清新盎然的生命源泉。

青春是一种心性气势，是胆量战胜怯懦，是勇敢探索战胜苟且偷安。这样的锐气，与其说二十后生才具备，不如说在六旬老翁身上更多见。年轮的累加，并非意味着垂老；丢弃理想，才是真正意义的暮年。

岁月会在额头上留下痕迹；而抛却热忱，则让灵魂长满皱纹。忧愁烦恼，恐惧焦虑，自疑畏缩，一定使心灵颓废，意气如灰。

无论年届花甲，还是芳龄二八，人人心中都想往着奇妙事物，想知道明天会发生什么；都有一颗孩童般久盛不衰的好奇心。你我的心中都竖有一架天线，只要你从天上人间接受美好、希望、欢乐、勇气和力量的信号，你就青春永驻，风华常存。

然而，天线一旦收起，玩世不恭、悲观厌世就会像冰雪一样，封盖你的锐气，即使年方二十，实际上也是垂垂老矣；但是，只要天线高置，还在捕捉乐观的信号，追求美妙的梦想，你就有望在八十高龄告别尘寰时，仍然年轻。