He has achieved success who has lived well,
laughed often and loved much;
who has gained the respect of intelligent men 
and the love of little children;
 who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;
who has left the world better than he found it,
whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul;
 who has never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty 
or failed to express it;
 who has always looked for the best in others
 and given them the best he had;
whose life was an inspiration;
 whose memory a benediction.

– “What Constitutes Success”
By Bessie Stanley (1905)

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson