## Metadata - Author: [[Helen DeWitt]] - Full Title: The Last Samurai - Category: #books ## Highlights - About a year ago I snatched a moment to read Iliad 16. I had been typing in Melody Maker 1976 and had reached the point in an interview with John Denver where the singer explained: You know, Chris … I have a definition of success, and what success is to me is when an individual finds that thing which fulfills himself, when he finds that thing that completes him and when, in doing it, he finds a way to serve his fellow man. When he finds that he is a successful person. It doesn’t make any difference whether you are a ditch-digger or a librarian or someone who works at the filling station or the President of the United States or whatever, if you’re doing what you want to do and in some way bringing value to the life of others, then you’re a successful human being. It so happens that in my area, which is entertainment, that success brings with it a lot of other things, but all of those other things, the money, the fame, the conveniences, the ability to travel and see the rest of the world, all of those are just icing on the cake and the cake is the same for everybody. ([Location 772](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B01EBAZRL6&location=772))