Life Success... achievements, having everything

[M3J]

Dear MH'ers,


You've all heard of the phrases, "Bill Gates is so successful! Thomas Alva Edison achieved a lot with his inventions! Bernie Madoff had everything until his scam was revealed!"

However, all three of these phrases are merely point of view statements. It looks like truth because majority of others accept them. What successful is, what having have achieved something is... they're all defined on points of view, as is having everything. In short, all three terms are individuals that are defined by individuals.

One could say a successful person is rich, another could say he's happy, another could say she's doing something important that could affect people, yet another can say success is those who have family and loved ones and have job. Same with having have achieved something. Secured a good job? You achieved something! Another may disagree and say starting and raising and having a great family is achieving something. One who has everything is one who has everything he wants, right? Or is it one who has everything that a person could want?

As you can see, it's all point of view. So what I would like to know is... what do you consider successful? What is success to you? How do you know that achieved what you wanted in life? Is really physically having everything really having everything or is it mentally having everything really having everything?

A fellow moderator and I talked about the meaning of "having everything" and it was pretty interesting to read his side of it, which is where the idea for this thread came from. Every one of you is individual, though granted that may not be good at times, and thus I want to read your unique point of view.

:


Sincerely,

 

[steelwingcrash1]

This thread is pretty inspiring.

For me, success is when you have finally finished your studies AND you can finally support yourself without depending on others. This sort of sounds like independence but, I guess that's success for me.

I consider myself to be successful already because I've finished my own studies already and I'm earning my own money by my own self, not depending on my parents any longer.

 

[Roflkopt3r]

Overall "success" can only be defined by happiness I think, and private life is a very important scale for that. Thus it's terribly hard to rate people I'm not personally close to. What the heck do I know how happy Bill Gate's life might be or not?

I think the best environmental conditions for this are a job suiting personal preferences with good colleagues plus a good partnership (and possibly children at some point).
Imo modesty is very important for this. It helps avoiding the worst downs of partnerships and keeps one away from monetary troubles. Obviously sincerity also is a great trait, by making sure to protect of the often bad and troubling consequences lies can have.

This might be considered naive when measured with reality, but I think it's still possible. I consider ideals to follow for myself as important.

Imo a solid final degree at university helps with this by allowing good and solid jobs. Then some luck is required to find a good employer/working conditions and to find the right partner (very luck depended here °_°). Finally, the rest is left to oneself's character or discipline.

 

[Jorge D. Dragon]

I think it depends on the person itself, cause success is the word that everyone understands in his own way. For someone is money, for someone is fame.
I do think that to succseed you need to become more or less independent and to do it you should get a job. To get a job you should get good education. In fact after getting profesion I would like to find a field in my profesion that I like and that I can do better and then improve and reach some level, where I can get some level of salary that will provide me normal life and provide me with a posibility to see the world and leave free and eventually make my own family. Cayse for me success isn't only money or something like this if I can't share with my friends or someone I love, cause this is success and happiness.

 

[M3J]

Success to me is dependent on the person. Despite people saying having lot of money, good job, and a good family equate to success, it means for naught if you don't feel successful. A successful person is someone who lives his life the way he wants. If a rich person thinks having tons of money is being successful, then he is successful. If an actor thinks critics appreciating his skills amounts to success, then he is successful in life. Even a poor person can be successful if he thinks success amounts to having a job and good family.

With achievements, I mostly define that as achieving one's goal. If someone hasn't achieved his goals, or even a goal, then he's not achieved as much. It's not making as big a name for yourself as it is meeting your goal.

Having everything isn't necessarily having everything, but having everything that you want, which does not mean same stuff throughout life. For example, I have a great TV, right? It doesn't mean I'll feel like I have everything few years later, when there most likely will be better TV out there. Those who have everything will truly feel like he has everything. A father who loves his family will feel like he has everything, as opposed to a millionaire who has latest products and stuff.

I'd write more, but I forgot what I wanted to say. v.v

 

[steelwingcrash1]

This explains that success is relative for any individual. We all define our successes differently, yet they converge at one point - that success is when all our hopes prevailed in life amidst difficulties.

 

[blai]

"Money isn't everything, but I'd rather cry in the back of a Porsche than on a bike."

I am of the opinion that success and money will make me happier as a person because I

a) Do not like working 9-5 for someone who's less qualified than me, nor as intellectual.
b) Do not like taking orders from someone just because...
c) am a very flexible and impulsive person and I hate planning which means that I
c.1) can travel a weekend somewhere without planning
c.2) don't want to be bound by my economy
d) would like to travel around the world and without the capital for it, I won't be able to do it until I'm old


The beauty of having money though is that you can choose whether to live rich with them or live low key as you'd do if you were a middle-class/lower-class citizen.

The power to choose.



However, success can be many different things depending on your own goal and the context in which you put the word.

To me, personally, success is when I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, without having to think about the short-term consequences.

 

[steelwingcrash1]

However, success can be many different things depending on your own goal and the context in which you put the word.

To me, personally, success is when I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, without having to think about the short-term consequences.

I guess Blai is pretty realistic as what was explained in that. Thumbs up for you!

But I guess I'll really be content with what I have if I can finally have a stable job that can support me and my family (once I start to have one). For me, that's a simple guy's request in life: to live peacefully with his family. Once I achieve that, I have already defined my success for me.

 

[Zeltrax]

I guess like a lot have mention..it's the feeling of content.
Like, a kid is content with a toy boat when there is xbox360 and ps3 out there, even with knowledge of that, he is still content with his toy boat, one that he worked hard to get/made.
In my opinion, success only comes when you appreciate what you did and everything you did to get it. Like that kid, he may have saved a lot of money or spent alot of time building that toy boat and when it's finally done..that feeling is unexplainable.
Compared to a rich kid who just ask his rich dad to give him more pocket money for a xbox, he probably doesn't feel successful, if he does, it's nothing compared to that kid's.

Another example is if I take a millionaire, earning millions is like nothing to him but taking care of his family pose a huge problem. But for a working guy, taking care of his family is not that of a problem, but earning millions is a very big one.

 

[faintsmile1992]

Success is reaching immediate pragmatic goals, nothing more or less.

"My formula for greatness in a human being is amor fati: that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it - all idealism is mendaciousness in the face of what is necessary - but love it." - Nietzsche

 

[klacc]

I think a successful person is having friends and family and having the means to tke care of their needs and some of their wants.

 

[Naomi]

suc·cess   [suh k-ses]
noun
1.the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.
2.the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.
3.a successful performance or achievement: The play was an instant success.
4.a person or thing that is successful: She was a great success on the talk show.
5.Obsolete . outcome.

Another way to think about success is that it has an inverse relationship with failure (nonperformance of something due, required, or expected:...deterioration or decay, especially of vigor, strength).

First of all, a goal is required. Without some sort of expectation or drive, there is nothing to succeed with in the first place. One who does not set goals is immune to success in their own eyes, and most likely in the eyes of others. To obtain true success, this goal in mind need be honest and challenging, otherwise the success would seem rather worthless.

In the eyes of perhaps a vast amount of society, the gauge for success is most likely economic prosperity, popularity, fame, happiness, or family. These types of things are some essential elements to success, but not a single one of these examples stands alone.

My personal goals (which relates to success as to whether I achieve it or not) mostly correspond with my hopes and fears. I hope to work (unless I win the lottery, then I'll become a scholar), travel, obtain knowledge and insight, create art, change someone's way of thinking, inspire someone the way that others have inspired me, and to leave a lasting mark somewhere in this world before ditching it for death.

Some people might call me a failure if I never got married or had a family. I, on the other hand, would have a much different paradigm. Craving science and art will lead me to success one day, I hope.

Those are my opinions.

 

[Nemispelled]

Being successful is quite a subjective term, in my opinion.

My definition of success is whether a person is capable of being independent or not. With that said, everybody has their own version of what "being successful" means and I wouldn't judge anybody according to my standards either.

It's just a personal benchmark for myself.



I don't think physically having everything or mentally having everything is considered "success" either.

Being rich and living in luxury is irrelevant to me, so the "physical aspect" is certainly ruled out in my book -- although, individuals who put their blood, sweat, and tears into their work definitely deserve to have a comfortable lifestyle, and I commend them for their effort.

As for the "mental aspect", people can still suffer from weaknesses and be independent. So I also don't attribute that requirement to being successful.

 

[gnut]

Well said....
Im far from being rich....but i have 2 sons.

Both have graduated...my youngest this past year.
My oldest is married 5yrs and did 5yrs in the army....neither have ever been troublemakers...
Both have made it so far....i think im pretty successful.
Have my own home,car (broke down atm xD),family who loves me,a good woman who takes care of me and my bestest buddy dog.
Oh yeah....more money wouldnt hurt but there are others doing far worse than me.

 

[NORI]

Success is one of the more subjective things in this world. But I think if I had to define it, it's achieving a vision that you had already laid out in your head. No matter how big or small, overcoming an obstacle or working towards a goal to see it realized is success.

I think if you're happy, actually happy with your life regardless of material wealth or achievements, you can consider yourself successful .

Success is visualizing an idea and then cultivating it to fruition. I don't consider myself successful for this reason, but as long as life is a struggle, the journey is always to get there.