An excerpt from
Lists to Live By: The First Collection: For Everything that Really Matters
WHAT IS SUCCESS?
To laugh often and love much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the approval of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To give of one's self;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
To have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived...
This it to have succeeded.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
POET, ESSAVIST, AND PHILOSOPHER