This is to have succeeded

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of the intelligent people and the affection of children;

to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

to appreciate beauty; to find the beauty in others;

to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;

to know that one life has breathed easier because you lived here.

This is to have succeeded.

(Ralph Waldo Emerson, poet and essayist)