Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to a new day to feel the success of making a difference. To feel the success of a sincere smile sent and delivered on target. To know that you did your best to brighten another persons day, and helped them with the development of their own smile.
Today my Thursday Theory is on 'A' definition of success. Yes unfortunately their are many who define the word in their own way.
Here is how the Free Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines success:
noun
favorable or desired outcome; also : the attainment of
wealth, favor, or eminence
Earl Nightingale defined success as:
"The progressive realization of a worthy ideal"
How do you define success? Is it happiness, money, time with loved ones, freedom?
I choose to define it under the terms laid out in the poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson as he wrote about success.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was a poet, lecturer, essayist who lived from 1803 to 1882 and is credited for the following quote. 77 words in length but so much power in these words.
I share it a lot and wanted to comment line by line and give you my theory and thoughts.
To laugh often and much;
How simple the first line, to laugh often and much and often when we laugh of course we smile. How often do you laugh? When we laugh and smile the world laughs and smiles with us. Try it today, find something anything to smile about and laugh about, and oh yeah do it more than once so you can get the 'often and much' in place.
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
Notice it does not say bully, coerce or push you intelligence upon others. The affection of children how kind that to succeed we only need to love and care or speak to a child so that he wants to give us affection. A grand child needs very little to want to give affection to us. Just a smile, or a laugh or attention well placed.
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
Another chance to earn appreciation of false friends and our critic's in life. Of course the line what other people think of us is really none of our business goes into play here as well.
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
How easy to appreciate beauty. But of course to appreciate it we must first learn how to slow down, take it easy like the words from Father and Son by Cat Stevens:
Take your time, think a lot, why, think of everything you got for you will still be here tomorrow but your dreams may not.
To find the best in others is not really that hard but of course we need to take the time to look and share our appreciation with others.
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To leave the world better than you found it. To make a difference with a simple sincere smile, to plant a garden of flowers or substance to share with others. To nourish with love and care those around us. How simple this can truly be success.
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
Perhaps the best line and when it is all said and done the most rewarding to our spirit. To know even one, just one life has breathed easier because you have lived. Imagine the simplicity of this statement in action. Maybe just a simple sincere smile and a kind word caused another to take heed and pass it on. The ripple effect of a act of kindness. Pure magic in motion.
This is to have succeeded.
--- Ralph Waldo Emerson
I can live with this definition of Success. Sure you can too.
Smiles and love sent your way today and everyday!
Enjoy your day and may it be a day filled with
smiles and magic and love!
May your smiles abound.
May your joy lift another spirit.
May you stay hungry and stay foolish!
May your heart be warmed because it always was.
Smiles sent your way this day and always!
Happy Thursday everyone! : )
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