What Is 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 life has breathed easier
because you have lived;

This is to have succeeded.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson