¶ 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.
