Robert Hoge: A Beautiful Life Beyond Appearance

Spending a lot of time in the hospital gave me an opportunity to understand that almost everyone's got something in their life that is important to them and that they feel different about. If you can actually step back and understand people in a way that acknowledges and doesn't dismiss their difference, it’s really powerful.

Success to me means being whole. And I think it goes to the point of saying, “Are you at peace with who you are? Do you feel like most parts of your life are working well most of the time?”

But for me, success is that sense of whether it's overcoming physical, emotional, psychological, financial, or whatever kind of other struggles to get somewhere ... See more

Not everything has to be okay, all at once.

The way we talk about appearance robs kids of their natural acceptance.

Ugliness is not the absence of beauty. It’s not in opposition to it. Ugliness is its own, wonderful thing.

beauty is not just a high tip like Mount Everest but “a million points on the map” – it may take root in different environments, emerge in a variety of spaces, manifest itself in dissimilar forms.