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Sen. Bob Graham
"That [definition of success] is a very good question. Sometime ago I was on a rich man's yacht and by the front console of the yacht there was a sign that said “the one who wins is the one with the most toys”. The yacht, I guess, being a manifestation of that. I don't agree with that definition of life. I think life is, the success of life is judged by your own sense of personal gratification. It's judged by the influence that you have on others. I think if there is one single test of how well you've lived your life it is how well your children turn out. Throughout your years on this earth you can fool a lot of people, put on a mask and make believe you are something that you are not. You can't do that with your own flesh and blood, living intimately with you. They are going to pick up the real essence of your values and so if you want to know how successful a person is, ask what kind of kids did he or she raised."


On Passion:
"There was one other thing that was probably more important than all of the above and that was passion. My sister-in-law, Katherine Graham
[late owner of the Washington Post] had known every President from Coolidge until her death, while George W. Bush was President. She said the one thing that distinguished persons who run successfully for President and serve successfully as President was passion. They had to feel very deeply that what they were doing was important to transcended ego or personal ambition. I frankly hadn't felt that passion until the experiences of the early part of this Century."

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