I came across the above quote and it struck me that some people are experiencing some set backs right now.  I know that feeling.  It isn't easy.  Our society educates people to always expect constant upward dynamic.  This is not the way of things.  If anything life progresses in a spiral dynamic not a diagonal upward linear dynamic.  We see this pattern of spirals in nature through the growth of plants.  We know that there is always a plateau or consolidation phase of learning before application of new knowledge can happen.  Yet if something in our outer circumstances drags us down, we can get into a "fret" and think that it is a permanent condition.  But consider these points:
1.  Your thinking is important
Make sure your thinking doesn't get or remain negative.  You may be unable to change your circumstances in the present but you can think about better things for the future.  Be sure not to set your mind to a negative default.  The situation notwithstanding find things to focus on that are positive.  If you are out of a job, think about your perfect job and how great it is that you get to look for it now. Your thinking is critical when the chips are down and it is within your control.
2.  Be the boss of your emotions
Don't be on an emotional roller coaster.  Yoga can be helpful as can meditation.  Some people find that adjusting their diet can be critical to managing their emotions.   Spent time in nature. Find what works for you and do it.  Keep the good feelings flowing.
3.  Know that nothing lasts forever.
Your situation is temporary.  It will change. When things are not going well it is key to remember this.  I like to think of life as a sine wave.  Sometimes things are rising, sometimes they are falling - there are crests and there are troughs.  If you are in the trough, know that it won't last forever and your positive thinking and emotions can hasten your exit from the trough.

Most of all know that you are not alone.  Reach out to those positive people in your life who can offer support and good advice.  Search out uplifting videos.  Listen to good messages and relax.

Recently I watched an excellent Youtube video by Anthony West, writer of many books which rocked the University establishment about the actual dating of the pyramids and the Sphinx.  His work is wonderful reading BUT that is not my point here.
Wholeness and not compartmentalization
One particular comment struck me as I watched and like a random string held by electrostatic energy on one's clothes, would not let me go.  He commented that in the time of the building of the Temple of Carnac, art, science, math and all the other subjects were inextricably linked.  This wholeness, this integration of subjects mirrors life.  The earth doesn't compartmentalize. Can you imagine if the forest only dealt with biology but not geology?  Or if the fibonnachi spiral were not built into most living things?  It would be chaos and confusion.  Hmm...sound like what we have in modern society, doesn't it?
Modern education is based on compartmentalization
It begs the question then, why do we educate for compartmentalization and not whole-brained thinking?  The answer is simple:  People who have been educated in that way accept at an unconscious level the "need to know" mentality of government and the ruling classes.  Very important that, since it allows those structures to stay in place.  It allows for the "right hand" not to know what the "left hand" is doing.  Wholistic thinking would not allow for the short term decisions which are destroying our children's inheritance to enrich the few. 
21st Century Education - is it the panacea people believe it to be?
21st Century Education has been touted as the "cure" for what is wrong with education.  But is it?  It allows for a small amount using IBL (Inquiry Based Learning) of integration of subjects and personalization of learning.  Yet it does not truly address the issue of compartmentalization.  Often students are learning things, which are totally isolated from any meaning in their reality.  With all the icing the cake underneath still tastes largely of the original flavour. 
What can be done to create a more whole-brained approach to education?
This becomes almost a game of which came first the education system or the system which generated it and which it largely supports.  It would take  ashift in perspective to allow people with the possibility of changing things to put structures into place to move education into  a more humane and wholistic space and structure.  Some moves are currently being made in B.C. with their new curriculum.  Yet it is still subdivided - Language Arts, Math as distinct from Science,  Socials, Science and so on.  One point in their favour is that they did re-pair Physical Education and Health.  Despite the fact that they are obviously related, they were seperately taught for years.  Still the subjects are separate and the connections between them which are important and natural are often left out of the discussion.
What can I do?
Make connections.  For yourself or your child, be sure to see the world as wholistic.  Everything is interrelated and their can be an ever widening circle of ramifications for a small action.  It is important for everyone to realize this.  Many of the same skills that serve a scientist also serve and artist. Perhaps more emphasis on skills and connections would serve us better.  Or perhaps we do not yet know how to solve the problem that education currently is.  The quote attributed to Einstein is "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness on which it was created."  The education system was created by our current society.  Without major societal change and a shift in conscious perception, there can be no true improvement, no solving of our problems.
Be part of that change.  All change begins with self change. Examine your own compartmentalization.  When and how do you justify "little white lies" to yourself.  If you can confront those things which mar your own integrity, there will be personal growth.  If enough personal growth can take place within enough of the population, they will stand up to corruption.  Or perhaps you think it is only the people at the top who create the problems in our society. 
A Case in Point
The society is the reflection of the people in it and if ours is false and corrupt, are we not to blame.  If you doubt this I offer the following:
A recent video I watched had a woman on stage who asked a simple question of her predominently white U.S. audience:  "Which one of you would want to be treated the way a black American routinely is treated in this society? Raise your hand if you would."  No one raised their hand.  She repeated the question and again not one person raised their hand.  She then commented:  "The fact that you do not want to be treated that way means that you know that black Americans are treated less well than you are and you don't want that treatment.  It also means that you are aware that the treatment is not what you would find acceptable yet you accept it and  do nothing to change it.  You are therefore part of the problem.  You know it is wrong yet you do nothing to change it." It is the very compartmentalization inherent in our educational system and in the system as a whole which promotes this type of acceptance of wrong doing.  "If black Americans are badly treated, what has that to do with me as a white American?  It doesn't affect me at all.", might be some of this type of thinking.  This behaviour is typical for many people, who may not be able to make the connection to the wider implications of the injustice which they permit to exist.
Yes, it is your Circus and they are your Monkeys!
If you allow injustice to go unchallenged, you may be surprised at how the spread of corruption comes home to roost.  If you don't want society to be a circus, take issue with the small wrongs, so they don't proliferate.  Be authentic and honest, stand up for what is right and don't back down.