What Is Success

　　by Ralph Waldo Emerson

　　What is success

　　To laugh often and much;

　　To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

　　To earn the appreciation¹ 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 redeemed² social condition;

　　To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived;

　　This is to have succeeded.