LOS ANGELES (CBS.MW) -- "Give 'em the good news," my wife said. "Today's news is so negative, all the time. Give investors a ray of light, something inspiring, positive, anything but what's out there. ... Maybe even a laugh or two. ... Something that says this is what America is really all about."

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As we approach the anniversary of one of the most tragic days in the history of this young country, and while we continue to be bombarded with bad news, be it on Wall Street or halfway around the world, I felt as if my wife might have been on to something.

She reminded me of my collection of quotations. So I picked my favorites, enough for each day from now through September. If you're similarly inspired, tape them on your refrigerator or bathroom mirror. Though not every speaker is American (and more than one is fictional), these quotations, taken together, demonstrate, I feel, the American spirit -- a spirit that is very much alive.

Week of Aug. 27-31

Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Success. To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

Warren Buffett: "Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get."

Albert Einstein: "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

Oprah Winfrey: "When I look into the future, it's so bright it burns my eyes. ... We each should allow our excellence to come forth and serve the world."

Todd Beamer: "Let's roll!"

Week of Sept. 1-7

Yogi Berra: "When you get to a fork in the road, take it."

Woody Allen: "I'm astounded by people who want to 'know' the universe when it's hard enough to find your way around Chinatown."

George Burns: "I would rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate."

Meister Eckhart: "If the only prayer you ever say is, 'Thank you,' it will be enough."

Milton Berle: "I believe if opportunity doesn't knock, build a door."

John F. Kennedy: "We need men who can dream of things that never were."

The Muppets: "You have to have soul. But if you don't have soul, halibut will do."

Week of Sept. 8-14

Julie Cameron: "God has lots of money. God has lots of movie ideas, novel ideas, poems, songs, paintings, acting jobs. ... Leap, and the net will appear."

Walt Disney: "If you can dream it, you can do it. ... It's kind of fun to do the impossible."

Winston Churchill: "We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."

Charles Carlson: "Swing for singles. ... You'll strike out fewer times and hit some home runs in the process. ... You become a seven-figure investor not because of the stocks you choose, but because you invest in stocks."

Alan Greenspan: "If I seem unusually clear to you, you must have misunderstood what I said."

Gandhi: "As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world ... as in being able to remake ourselves."

Kirk Douglas: "God how do we find you? How do we know you? You are as close to us as breathing. You are as mysterious as the vast solitude of the skies, yet as warm as the rays of the sun. We try to find you. Amen."

Week of Sept. 15-21

James Michener: "I'm going to live the rest of my life as if I were a great man." (After the young pilot survived a World War II crash in the South Pacific.)

Michelangelo: "The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."

The Buddha: "Things to do today: exhale, inhale, exhale ... ahhhh!"

Anna Quindlen: "Get a life in which you pay attention to the baby as she scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a Cheerio with her thumb and first finger. Turn off the cell phone. Turn off your regular phone, for that matter. Keep still. Be present. Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you."

Mae West: "Whenever I have to choose between two evils, I always like to try the one I haven't tried before."

Zorba the Greek: "To be alive is to undo your belt and look for trouble."

Jackie Gleason: "Everyone should make two fortunes, one to blow, and one for security."

Week of Sept. 22-28

Charles Schulz: "Happiness is a warm puppy. ...Good grief!"

Mother Teresa: "What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family."

Albert Schweitzer: "Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."

Thomas Stanley: "What do most millionaires tell me they learned: Think differently from the crowd."

Jimi Hendrix: "With the power of soul, anything is possible."

Casey Stengel: "Forecasting is very difficult, especially if it involves the future."

Woody Allen: "I am plagued with doubts. What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? I definitely overpaid for my carpet. If only God would give me a clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name in a Swiss bank."

Week of Sept. 29-30

Tom Hanks: "I will maintain my faith in chance and serendipity. That's my master plan."

Richard Carlson: "Don't worry about the market; invest in it. One of the closest things to a worry-free, wealth-building strategy is to invest, long term, in the stock market. It doesn't matter in the short term if the market is going up or down. You win either way."