"Seven and half years ago I began my own journey. For me and my family it was a time of adversity. But during that adversity I derived a deeper faith. And born out of that adversity was a commitment to devote myself to those people and to those issues that truly matter to me"

In this quote, Paul Tsongas reviews a hard time in his life, 7 and a half years earlier, when he started a personal journey. He acknowledges that it was a time of difficulty for both himself and his family. However, he also recognizes that it was throughout this difficult duration that he established a more powerful faith. This faith, in turn, inspired him to make a commitment to focus on the people and issues that are true importance to him. Through his own struggles, Tsongas found a much deeper purpose and a decision to make a favorable influence on the world around him.