Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
An aim in life is the only fortune worth the finding; and it is not to be found in foreign lands, but in the heart itself.
Interpretation
The true treasure in life is having purpose, which comes from within rather than from external pursuits.
This quote emphasizes that the most valuable aspect of life is having a meaningful goal or aim, which can only be discovered through introspection and self-awareness. It suggests that external achievements or possessions cannot provide true fulfillment; instead, one must look inward to find what truly matters and drives them.
In practice
A motivational speaker might use this quote to encourage young adults to find their passions.
Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits.
Like a bird singing in the rain, let grateful memories survive in time of sorrow.
That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much.
His past was fairly blameless; few men could read the rolls of their life with less apprehension; yet he was humbled to the dust by the many ill things he had done, and raised up again into sober and fearful gratitude by the many he had come so near to doing, yet avoided.
The habit of being happy enables one to be freed, or largely freed, from the domination of outward conditions.
It is the history of our kindnesses that alone make this world tolerable. If it were not for that, for the effect of kind words, kind looks, kind letters . . . I should be inclined to think our life a practical jest in the worst possible spirit.
Iβve seen people where it rules their lives, you know, who want to be thinner or have bigger boobs, and how it wears them down. And I just donβt want that in my life.
What's the good of drawing in the next breath if all you do is let it out and draw in another?
Skating takes up 70 percent of my time, school about 25 percent. Having fun and talking to my friends, 5 percent. It's hard. I envy other kids a lot of things, but I get a guilt trip when I'm not training.
Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it.
We need to confront the life-killing stereotype that says we're all about suffering. We need to bear witness to our pleasures.
Everything was good. But it was awful, too.
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