What Constitutes Success?

“Success”

Inaccurately attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson

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, to find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child,

a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.

“What Constitutes Success”

By Bessie Stanley (1905)

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.

I assert that "Success" has different meanings for different people.

What constitutes "Success" for you might mean nothing to me or someone else.

Some think that wealth means success, or power.

Some think that having a degree, or the perfect job is success.

I believe it is about Priorities.

What do I have to do in order to feel "Successful"?

What constitutes "Success" for me is:

1. A good relationship with my God and Jesus. 
2. A loving, close-knit family. Being a good wife, mother, and sister. 
3. Good friends not fair weather friends who only love you when you do what they want you to do. 
4. Self acceptance, of my good and bad, realizing that I do not have to be perfect in order to be loved. 
5. Living, Loving, Laughing as much as I can. 
6. Peace and Serenity that comes from knowing what you were created for and doing it. 
7. Doing the best that you can with what God gave you. 
8. Pleasing God, not man. 
9. Helping when you can. 
10. Accepting whatever God's will is for you.