Success

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.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

On Children

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Kahlil Gibran

Giving means extending one’s
Love with no conditions, no
Expectations and no boundaries.

Peace of mind occurs, therefore
When we put all our attention
Into giving and have no desire
To get anything from or to
Change, another person.

The giving motivation leads
To a sense of inner peace and
Joy that is unrelated to time.

Gerald G Jampolsky
Love is Letting Go of Fear

Expect the best;
Convert problems into opportunities;
Be dissatisfied with the status quo;
Focus on where you want to go,
Instead of where you’re coming from;
And most importantly,
Decide to be happy,
Knowing it’s an attitude,
A habit gained from daily practice,
And not a result or payoff.

Denis Waitley
The Winner’s Edge