When I was in 4th grade, I had a “slambook” – a notebook wherein people can slam their own opinions down about the question written in each page. There was this question which asked “what you want to be when you grow up.” I noticed that most of my classmates wrote down “to become successful.” Well, it is not a surprising answer. Who does not want to be successful? No one. I think that the most common idea when we hear the word success is to make lots of money, live in a mansion, own a red Ferrari and buy all the things you want. But is this really the true meaning of success? Do all people think that being successful means living in luxuries? This question urged me to seek for the real meaning of success.
Success, as defined in the dictionary, means a favourable outcome of something attempted; the attainment of wealth and fame. These definitions gave me information about what success is. However, these fail to give me a concrete answer of what I was looking for. And so it is time to further seek for its true meaning.
I found a discussion of what true success is in an internet site. As I scroll down through the webpage, I have seen several meanings of true success from the comment of other people. Success has different meanings for us. For some, it could be a sense of happiness. Another might think of success as earning lots of money. Someone might just see it as a special love for a partner. Our concept of true success depends on what we want to do, on our goals and on our objectives in life. For example an engineer may see success in terms of building the highest skyscraper. A doctor may define success as finding a cure to a patient’s disease or saving a life. Success for a student could be graduating with flying colours. A businessman may see success in terms of increased profits and expanding market sales.
Success is not achieved instantly; there will always be bumps along the way. The most common factor that hinders us in achieving success is our fear of failure. We let this fear into our hearts and minds which eventually will affect our performance and determination in achieving our goals. Making the wrong choices is another reason why people tend to fail. And lastly a person may fail if he or she does not truly know what path to follow.
In order to achieve success, we must have first known our goals and dreams in life. We should also not be afraid of failing because failing is the first step in achieving success. Sometimes, we stumble down but eventually we get back on our feet. We learn from the mistake in life and do our best not to fail again. We must have determination and hard work to be able to reach the highest peak of success.
For most of us, success is more than just an accomplishment. There is a deeper and more enduring feeling than that of just an achievement. This is what success is. True success is richly textured with powerful feeling and positive emotions. It energizes and inspires those that are driven by an inner sense of real destiny. True success is having a real connection to our life’s mission. This is the kind of success that lasts a lifetime.
The search for the true meaning of success is finally over. The true definition of success lies in our hands. It depends on our goals, aspirations, dreams and perspectives. True success is not just an accomplishment. It is an unexplainable feeling that has to be driven by passion from a dream that cannot be denied. We will reach true success if we follow our hearts and if we work hard because as Mark Twain (nd.) quotes “the dictionary is the only place where success comes before work”. We can achieve true success by not letting fear win over us because according to Paulo Coelho (nd.) “the only thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve is the fear of failure”. Now that we finally know the meaning of true success, let us all look into ourselves and find it....
References:
The True Meaning if Success. Bruce Eisner (2011). Retrieved Nov. 18, 2011 from
Merriam-Webster (2011) Retrieved Nov.18, 2011 from http://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/success
Top 5 Tips for Achieving Success (May 7, 2007) Retrieved Nov.21 from http://ww-
success.com/blog/index.php/2007/05/07/top-5-tips-for-achieving-success/
A simple guide to achieving success in life (2009) Retrieved Nov.21 from
It's a very nice topic. It's good also that you break down the different meanings of success from the different points of view. BTW, this part struck me the most: "The true definition of success lies in our hands. It depends on our goals, aspirations, dreams and perspectives." :D
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