If you want to judge a man (or woman) well, and learn what they are really like, watch how they act and behave in times of trouble, and adversity. For example, anyone can act kind, confident, and calm when they’re sitting at home, safe, healthy, and financially secure. However, only a very good person could stay just as calm, kind, and self-assured in a time of stress and crisis, such as a natural disaster, or an empassioned argument.

This is my interpretation of the second quote:

When you dream something far-fetched and impossible, don’t worry. You can achieve this dream by working hard and perservering to reach your goal. This is “building the foundations” to your “castle.”

This is my interpretation of the third quote:

If you try very hard at something, and fail, it is better than if you never tried in the first place. For example, if you run a race, and don’t win, its much better than if you had decided to not run at all because of the competition.

As for the 4th quote, I’m not quite sure.

I know its from a poem by Robert Frost. I think it means go with what your heart tells you, and don’t just do what everyone else is doing. If you follow this advice, it will make all the differnce.

For your essay, choose the first one. I think it a very meaningful quote that you could expand a lot on.

good luck!

They all have to do with “trying,” with having a solid “foundation” or underpinning beneath you… a way you stay steady even when life seems so hard. (that’s mainly #2.)

#1. Means that those times of trouble and how you deal with them count more than what you do when you are comfortable.

#3. I already mentioned…it means if you don’t ever try to do anything, it’s a worse thing than trying and failing.

#4. takes thought…I think difference is good, but do you?

Good luck!

RE:
What does this mean? "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in…?
moments of comfor, but where he stands at times of challenge and contoversy."

and

"If you build castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now, put the foundations under them."

and

"Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have…

Think about it. People learn from their mistakes. We must first learn to crawl before we can walk. People are defined by how they overcome adversities in life. Think about how you grow in your life and do that quote by MLK Jr. some justice by showing some of that “ultimate measure” of yourself to coming to your own conclusion. Good luck.

Pick that 😉