--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We measure success by accumulation. The…" description: "\"We measure success by accumulation. The measure is false. The true measure is appreciation. He who loves most has most.\" — Henry Van Dyke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/henry-van-dyke-2453_accumulation_we-measure-success-by-accumulation-the-m_3086404.png" --- # We measure success by accumulation. The measure is false… ![“We measure success by accumulation. The measure is false. The true measure is appreciation. He who loves most has most.” quote by Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/henry-van-dyke-2453_accumulation_we-measure-success-by-accumulation-the-m_3086404.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/henry-van-dyke-2453_accumulation_we-measure-success-by-accumulation-the-m_3086404.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/henry-van-dyke-2453_accumulation_we-measure-success-by-accumulation-the-m_3086404.png) > “We measure success by accumulation. The measure is false. The true measure is appreciation. He who loves most has most.” [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success is often judged by material gain, but true worth comes from gratitude and love. **In simple terms:** Worth is measured by appreciation, not accumulation. Key Takeaway Cultivate gratitude over acquisition. Themes gratitude love success values Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - leadership - community building - self‑assessment Key Concepts humanism ethical philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you shift focus from possessions to appreciation? - What does “most love” look like in your life? A Different Perspective Material focus can overlook deeper fulfillment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accumulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation/) [Appreciation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation/) [Appreciation Loves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation-loves-5288249/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Measure Appreciation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measure-appreciation-5288247/) [Measure of success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measure-of-success/) [Measure Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measure-success/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Success Accumulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success-accumulation-5288248/) [Thank you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thank-you/) [True measure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-measure/) ## Related quotes > [The true measure of success for the U.N. is not how much we promise, but how much we deliver for those who need us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/the-true-measure-of-success-for-the-u-n-is-not-how-much-we-promise/) [Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/) > [The only true measure of success is the ratio between what we might have done and what we might have been on the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/the-only-true-measure-of-success-is-the-ratio-between-what-we-might/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [“The true measure of success is how many times you can bounce back from failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/the-true-measure-of-success-is-how-many-times-you-can-bounce-back/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [The True Measure Of Success is determined by your home life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-black/the-true-measure-of-success-is-determined-by-your-home-life/) [Dan Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-black/) > [The only true measure of success is the amount of joy we are feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/the-only-true-measure-of-success-is-the-amount-of-joy-we-are-feeling/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [“After all is said and done, I believe the true measure of success is how many times you can bounce back from failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-k-abdelnour/after-all-is-said-and-done-i-believe-the-true-measure-of-success-is/) [Ziad K. Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-k-abdelnour/) > [A true measure of success is just to work hard and get my music out there and just be myself and be real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-beckett/a-true-measure-of-success-is-just-to-work-hard-and-get-my-music-out/) [William Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-beckett/) > [The measure of a man's culture is the measure of his appreciation. We are ourselves what we appreciate and no more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/the-measure-of-a-man-s-culture-is-the-measure-of-his-appreciation-we/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [Every great success is an accumulation of thousands of ordinary efforts that no one else sees or appreciates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/every-great-success-is-an-accumulation-of-thousands-of-ordinary/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [I don't measure success by how many buildings have my name on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/i-don-t-measure-success-by-how-many-buildings-have-my-name-on-it/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [“one measure of success in life is a moment of contentment derived from deep fellowship and hard work, the”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-mott-freeman/one-measure-of-success-in-life-is-a-moment-of-contentment-derived/) [Sally Mott Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-mott-freeman/) > [I can only tell you one thing I've learned. Enjoy the walk along the path you've chosen. Don't count down the days. Make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/i-can-only-tell-you-one-thing-i-ve-learned-enjoy-the-walk-along-the/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [Do not measure success by today's harvest. Measure success by the seeds you plant today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/do-not-measure-success-by-today-s-harvest-measure-success-by-the/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [How many people you bless is how you measure success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-ross/how-many-people-you-bless-is-how-you-measure-success/) [Rick Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-ross/) > [“To live the lives we truly want and deserve, and not just the lives we settle for, we need a Third Metric, a third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-huffington/to-live-the-lives-we-truly-want-and-deserve-and-not-just-the-lives-we/) [Arianna Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-huffington/) ## More by Henry Van Dyke > [I know that Europe's wonderful, yet something seems to lack;The Past is too much with her, and the people looking back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/i-know-that-europe-s-wonderful-yet-something-seems-to-lack-the-past/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [The Bible does not profess to make men omniscient, but simply to tell them enough to make them happy and good, if they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/the-bible-does-not-profess-to-make-men-omniscient-but-simply-to-tell/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [So in the heart, When, fading slowly down the past, Fond memories depart, And each that leaves it seems the last; Long after all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/so-in-the-heart-when-fading-slowly-down-the-past-fond-memories-depart/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [It is with rivers as it is with people: the greatest are not always the most agreeable nor the best to live with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/it-is-with-rivers-as-it-is-with-people-the-greatest-are-not-always/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [A little while the rose, And after that the thorn; An hour of dewy morn, And then the glamour goes. Ah, love in beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/a-little-while-the-rose-and-after-that-the-thorn-an-hour-of-dewy-morn/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [A peace that depends on fear is nothing but a suppressed war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/a-peace-that-depends-on-fear-is-nothing-but-a-suppressed-war/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [Love is not about getting - but giving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/love-is-not-about-getting-but-giving/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [Favorite People, Favorite Places, Favorite Memories of the past ... These are the joys of a lifetime Those are the things that last](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/favorite-people-favorite-places-favorite-memories-of-the-past-these/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [Religion? Yes, I know it well; I've heard its prayers and creeds, And seen men put them all to shame with poor, half-hearted deeds.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/religion-yes-i-know-it-well-i-ve-heard-its-prayers-and-creeds-and/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [It is better to desire the things we have than to have the things we desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/it-is-better-to-desire-the-things-we-have-than-to-have-the-things-we/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [Jazz: Music invented for the torture of imbeciles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/jazz-music-invented-for-the-torture-of-imbeciles/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [Lord, when my spirit shall return to thee, At the foot of a friendly tree let my body be buried, That this dust may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/lord-when-my-spirit-shall-return-to-thee-at-the-foot-of-a-friendly/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/gratitude-is-the-inward-feeling-of-kindness-received-thankfulness-is/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [In warlike pomp, with banners flowing, The regiments of autumn stood: I saw their gold and scarlet glowing From every hillside, every wood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/in-warlike-pomp-with-banners-flowing-the-regiments-of-autumn-stood-i/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [There is a better thing than the observance of Christmas day, and that is, keeping Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/there-is-a-better-thing-than-the-observance-of-christmas-day-and-that/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) [Explore all 165 Henry Van Dyke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) ## More Accumulation quotes > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [Before World War II, I was living a very cloistered existence, as most cartoonists do. The work I was pouring out did not come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-eisner/before-world-war-ii-i-was-living-a-very-cloistered-existence-as-most/) [Will Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-eisner/) > [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/) [Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/) > [The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, selfappointed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/the-accumulation-of-all-powers-legislative-executive-and-judiciary-in/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [I think that only daring speculation can lead us further and not accumulation of facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-think-that-only-daring-speculation-can-lead-us-further-and-not/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Karma is often wrongly confused with the notion of a fixed destiny. It is more like an accumulation of tendencies that can lock us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/karma-is-often-wrongly-confused-with-the-notion-of-a-fixed-destiny-it/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [There has been, for some reason (or more likely an unfortunate accumulation of reasons) a trend over the past several decades for parents to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/there-has-been-for-some-reason-or-more-likely-an-unfortunate/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [Ageing is, simply and clearly, the accumulation of damage in the body. That's all that ageing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-de-grey/ageing-is-simply-and-clearly-the-accumulation-of-damage-in-the-body/) [Aubrey de Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-de-grey/) > [For me, personally, there is one really interesting thing. You're all a bit too young for that, but when you get to a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-waltz/for-me-personally-there-is-one-really-interesting-thing-you-re-all-a/) [Christoph Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-waltz/) > [The mounting burden of taxation not only undermines individual incentives to increased work and earnings, but in a score of ways discourages capital accumulation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-mounting-burden-of-taxation-not-only-undermines-individual/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [When the accumulation of wealth is no longer of high social importance, there will be great changes in the code of morals. We shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/when-the-accumulation-of-wealth-is-no-longer-of-high-social/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity. They forget, perhaps, that his religion forbade the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-alexander-eastman/the-native-american-has-been-generally-despised-by-his-white/) [Charles Alexander Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-alexander-eastman/) > [The soul lives forever by giving, not receiving. This is the grand paradox. You get most by giving most. Conversely, by receiving much you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-johnson/the-soul-lives-forever-by-giving-not-receiving-this-is-the-grand/) [Julian Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-johnson/) > [Forgiveness of the present is even more important than forgiveness of the past. If you forgive every moment - allow it to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/forgiveness-of-the-present-is-even-more-important-than-forgiveness-of/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/too-much-and-too-long-we-seem-to-have-surrendered-community/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) [Browse all 412 Accumulation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We measure success by accumulation. The measure is false. The true measure is appreciation. 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