“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children…to leave the world a better place…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children…to leave the world a better place…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
i have the affection of children, the respect of intelligent people may take a while. O do t think I know any!
I hope you have succeeded x
Hi Becky, I’ve always loved a longer version of this since I read it in the front of a book I was sent to review about a woman who died of cancer and her sister included it as a tribute to her. I know lots of people will find it very sentimental but I have read it over again and find it very moving. It’s good to see success defined like that, when I blogged about it, it was also fairly pointed out that a ‘healthy’ child could be seen as uninclusive – perhaps a ‘happy child’ would be better 🙂 xx:
To laugh often and much
to win the respect of intelligent people
and 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 redeemed
social condition; to know even
one life has breathed easier because
you have lived. This is to have succeeded
OOH… I’m going away to think about that one! Hopefully I’ll come up with an answer.
Ok, I’ve had a think about it while I was flying around doing other things…. I think you can only measure success against the goals you set, so to succeed you need to know what you want to achieve. Anything else is just a by-product along the way.
(I did write a lot more but deleted it because I was getting bogged down with explanations!) For a difficult question like this, sometimes a simple answer is best!
Wow! I love this comment
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Thank you linda for the long version it’s loveky and I agree with you it’s a fab quote ( I never mind sentimental! ) Kate I think you make a great point too, your success is a measure of your own aims no one elses. Thanks you jen and Emma for commenting too. 😉