Success has a simple formula: do your best, and people may like it.

The line reframes “success” as something grounded in effort rather than in applause. “Do your best” emphasizes agency and integrity—what you can control—while “people may like it” deliberately weakens the promise of external validation. The modal “may” suggests that approval is contingent, unpredictable, and not a reliable metric for self-worth. Read this way, the “simple formula” is almost anti-formula: it advises focusing on workmanship and character, accepting that recognition is a possible byproduct rather than the goal. The quote’s significance lies in its practical ethic—commit to excellence, detach from outcomes, and let public response fall where it will.