Poetry Friday with Emerson

Not a poem but one of my favorite American authors ever:
Ralph Waldo Emerson

The definition of success--
To laugh much;
to win respect of intelligent persons and the affections 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 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