success

To laugh often and love much;

To win the respect of intelligent persons

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 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 is to have succeeded.

 

—Bessie Anderson Stanley