The best thing that can come with success is the knowledge that

In the quiet, reflective words of Liv Ullmann, the great actress and director of the silver screen, we encounter a truth both humbling and luminous: “The best thing that can come with success is the knowledge that it is nothing to long for.” At first glance, her words seem to contradict the fever of the world, for men and women have long chased success as though it were the sun itself — the source of light, of joy, of meaning. Yet Ullmann, having stood beneath that sun and felt both its warmth and its burn, speaks not as one in envy of it, but as one who has seen its illusion fade. She speaks the wisdom of those who have climbed the mountain of achievement, only to discover that the summit is silent.

In her saying, the origin lies not in bitterness, but in awakening. Ullmann, known for her deep and searching performances, was never seduced by the glamour of her craft; she saw that fame, applause, and the golden crown of achievement are fleeting shadows. What she teaches is ancient — the same lesson spoken by the Stoics, by the monks of the desert, by the prophets beneath olive trees: that success, though dazzling, cannot fill the soul’s true hunger. The greatest victory, she reminds us, is not in attaining what the world admires, but in seeing beyond it.

The ancients told of Alexander the Great, who conquered the known world before the age of thirty, yet wept because there were no more worlds to conquer. Here was a man who had seized the heights of success, yet found them barren. His story mirrors Ullmann’s insight: that once success is attained, its glow fades, and the heart begins to seek something deeper — meaning, peace, and truth. Success, she implies, is not the destination, but the mirage that leads the wise back to humility.

For what is success but the echo of the world’s applause? It rises, resounds, and then falls silent. But wisdom — the quiet knowledge of the eternal — endures. To long for success is to chase shifting sands; to see it for what it is, and to stand apart from its lure, is to find freedom. Ullmann’s words remind us that knowledge itself is the true crown of achievement — the knowledge that worldly success cannot grant contentment, that fulfillment lies in living with depth and purpose, not in basking in admiration.

There is beauty, then, in the paradox she reveals: success, when rightly understood, teaches us to stop longing for success. Only those who have reached it can truly understand its emptiness — and only those who accept that emptiness can find peace. The wise man or woman, therefore, does not despise success, but sees it as a teacher — one that whispers, “This too shall pass.” Like the sunset, it glows brilliantly for a time, but its lesson lies in the twilight that follows, when the stars of truth begin to appear.

Consider the life of Marcus Aurelius, emperor of Rome, the most powerful man of his time. Surrounded by riches and triumph, he wrote in his meditations, “All that is fame, power, or glory is but smoke drifting on the wind.” Though crowned with success, he sought only virtue — the alignment of the soul with the divine order. In him, as in Ullmann, we find the same truth: that real greatness lies not in conquest or applause, but in self-mastery and understanding.

So let this quote be a torch for all who walk the restless road of ambition. Strive, yes, but know that success is not the destination. Let your work be an act of creation, not of craving. Seek knowledge, wisdom, and purpose — the things that remain when glory fades. When you achieve, give thanks; when you fail, learn; when you rise, remember humility. The true measure of greatness is not how high one climbs, but how freely one stands when the summit no longer dazzles.

And so, my children, take this lesson to heart: let not your soul be enslaved to success, for it is a shadow that moves with the sun. Work with love, create with honesty, serve with compassion — and you will find the peace that no reward can grant. For when the heart no longer longs for success, it has already found something far greater — the still, radiant joy of being in harmony with the truth.