Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Passion Party #208 - Achievement Vs. Success

Helen Hayes was one of the most amazing women of the 20th Century.
Born in 1900 to a working class dad and an aspiring actress mom, Helen started her career when she was 5 years old. She is one of the few actors to make a successful transition into the "talking" pictures when sound was introduced to movies.
She is one of only twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award. Hayes also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor, from President Ronald Reagan in 1986. In 1988, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. She is also one of the few actors to have a theatre in New York named after her.

You might call her successful.

But Helen Hayes was focused on her achievements, not on success. She said:
"My mother drew a distinction between achievement and success. She said that 'achievement is the knowledge that you have studied and worked hard and done the best that is in you. Success is being praised by others, and that's nice, too, but not as important or satisfying.' Always aim for achievement and forget about success."

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