this poem describes best what i am looking for:

A man is as great as the dream he dreams,
As great as the love he bears;
As great as the values he redeems,
And the happiness he shares.

A man is as great as the thought he thinks,
As the worth he has attained;
As the fountains at which his spirit drinks,
And the insight he has gained.

A man is as great as the truth he speaks,
As great as the help he gives;
As great as the destiny he seeks,
as great as the life he lives.

-C.E.Flynn