Search THE READING ROOM

Showing posts with label Emerson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emerson. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

What is YOUR definition of success?

Here's a little reminder that life is not about having the flashiest cellphone or the swankiest car:

¶ To laugh often and love much ¶ To win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children ¶ To earn the approbation 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 little 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.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, was seen as a champion of individualism and a critic of the countervailing pressures of society. He disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States.