Viktor Frankl was an Austrian psychotherapist who was imprisoned at Auschwitz during World War II. He wrote a book, Man's Search for Meaning, in which he stated on fulfilling one's task: "A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the 'why' for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any 'how'" (127). He also wrote on choosing one's attitude: "Everything can be taken from a man but. . . the last of the human freedoms--to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way" (104). This book was his gift to humanity.

Quotes reprinted from:
Frankl, Viktor E., Man's Search for Meaning, Washington Square Press, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1962.