post #10

"To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, and to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch... to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded"  - Emerson

We all look for success so often in our daily lives, trying to be the best at something, coming out on top, that we are truly beginning to lose sight of what this really means. Success isn't always about coming out on top, it doesn't mean that its wrong to achieve your dreams, and get as far as you possibly can, but simply because you aren't the CEO of a company, or the president, doesn't mean that you cant be successful. To laugh often and much simply means that you must enjoy life, you can't get anywhere or have a successful career if you don't enjoy what you do. We need to work to be people that we are proud of and this doesn't mean changing who we are, but presenting ourselves in a way that people can respect and love. Life will have ups and downs in it, friends may turn out not to be real, criticims may seem harsh, but we need to be able to accept those things and move on from them only allowing them to make us stronger people. We need to be able to see the beauty in everything, even in people who seem to only have hate in their hearts, if we look for the best in everything, then we can easily pick ourselves back up after we have fallen. If we are able to look forward in life, and try to make an impact on just one persons life, we have already made a lasting impression forever, and that is the true definition of success.