What is success in life?

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, writer and philosopher (1803-1882)