Definition of Success: A Personal Journey Towards Fulfillment
I know the definition of success, but for this essay I can’t state that my definition is the right one. Because it’s my definition. The meaning of success is unique to each person. Some people want sports cars, some people want money, some people want love, some people just want less stress. There’re successful people who work on wall street and make lots of money. There’re successful people who live in small remote villages who fish all day long and they are living their dreams.
Most people don’t know what their definition of success is. That’s why they have so much uncertainty. That’s why they get caught up in trivial things. If you haven’t thought about it yet, you must devote an entire day to just sit down and think “What do I really want out of life?”. It sounds simple, but most people just don’t do it. They don’t have the guts to admit what do I really want. And I mean seriously and realistically listing what you want. Don’t say “I want to be rich”. That doesn’t mean anything. Rich could mean earning a ton of money but working 80-hour weeks. That’s probably not actually rich because you’re working too damn much. Rich could mean something completely different. Like owning a big comic book collection. Both people are rich right? They have a lot of assets? You’re going to have to do some deep soul searching. You must try new things. You must fail. You must meet people who are doing what you want to be doing and ask them what it is like.
There’re a million questions to ask yourself. The most important question is “What would life be like if I didn’t have this dream come true?”. What would life be like if you didn’t get that big comic book collection. I’m kind of joking, but it’s true, you need to think about the results and consequences. And I’m telling you this because your goals might require bigger actions than you think. Do you need to move to another city or even another country to achieve your goals? Sometimes it matters a lot. Do you need to quit you job to ultimately be happy? See therefore I never believed in asking other people for advice. Because who can really know what’s good for you? Only you. Nobody knows how important certain things are to you. Some people will even reject it. They’ll tell you not to do things, especially if they are radically different. Sometimes they might be jealous, but the truth is they don’t think its right for them.
Success is serious. This is what drives you. Therefore, you wake up in the morning. Therefore, you go to work everyday. This is important. That’s why you need to take the time out to figure out what it means to you. And just because you’ve done it once doesn’t mean you’re done. You must re-evaluate the meaning of success periodically. Like every few years. Because your values will change. What’s your meaning of success going to be like after you finish school? After you get married? After you retire? It’s always going to change. But that’s ok.
