I've been thinking quite a bit about the word 'SUCCESS' and what it actually means to people. I realize some people weigh their success by the size of their bank account or their home and car, and those things can really be great successes to some, but really?
Does success have to be physically seen by another to truly mean anything? Or...can success be private and personal and kept to one's self? Can it really be considered success if no one knows about it but you? Does success have to be shared to be appreciated?
Having healthy children who grow up to be productive and kind adults can be considered a success. Nurturing a dream to the 'come true' point can be a success. Being adored by many others can be considered a success. Are these ideas really success, though? I believe everyone has a different idea of what success truly is.
Please tell me what you think real SUCCESS is, and what it truly means to you.
Thank you for blogging with me!
We Belong Together
by Barbara Grovner
It’s hard to imagine the death of a close family member. Especially when it is someone you admire and look up to, and most especially when it is your very own sister.
It’s also hard to imagine why anyone would want your sweet and loving sister dead. Who could possibly want to hurt her, let alone kill her? Kara’s death caused deep heartache among those who loved her, but soon it became apparent that her killer was someone who knew her, and knew her very well.
An extensive and painstaking investigation, rattles and shakes the lives of those who loved Kara, until the truth comes tumbling out.
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Success means a lot to me, and I assess it in a spiritual way with inspirational verve attached to it. And it's a psychological thing to me. True success in anything has a value placed on it when one can claim it and take on the persona of someone who has confidence, doing everything to insure superlative levels are maintained. Moreover, there are many other elements that are apropos in garnering success. Below are three of my favorites:
ReplyDelete* Commitment -- Time has always been the best barometer to measure something ventured for a successful model, and not least of all -- continuity. Endeavor to preserve perseverance to know that smoother transitions are to those that can stay the course and are patient beyond measure!
* Challenges -- What good is a goal without overcoming obstacles to measure worth? Levels of success demands that you take on other endeavors as you step out of comfort zones to reinvent yourselves. You must believe that you're capable of becoming. You want to be aware that the potential to become much more than what is being manifested by your outward appearance is par for the course. Effective change starts with the mind, but to BELIEVE it you must THINK IT. Make appropriate adjustments without compromise!
* Last but certainly not least is Creative Thought -- In order to be successful at anything originality is a key component to fuel content and context. We are all innovators and conspirators of thinking out of the box. Learn to discover niches that nurture and are guided by imagery which fuels the fires of contention. The world is our arena, the battles are infinite and spoils of success are ours -- only after we give glory to Him!
Alvin C. Romer
Author/Literary Consultant/Publicist
℅ The Romer Review
Miami, FL
(786) 356-8119
Thanks so much Alvin! I knew I could count on you to share insightful information with us. I'm happy you stopped by. Hope to hear from you again!
ReplyDeleteI believe success is something that can be one's own personal feat. In society success is having what is considered the "best" of everything. But what If you don't have the most beautiful and biggest home on the block, but you worked hard, created a goal to one day buy a home, and now you have one? Isn't that success? If your new home that you worked so hard to get is small and needs work, are you unsuccessful? Maybe to outsiders, but to you, you are a proud home owner. You had to create a budget and save up! You made huge sacrifices just to be able to make the down payment! You had to hear the word "NO" more times than you can count. Now finally you have a home. I believe experiences similar to this, are success. Anytime you made a goal for yourself, took the steps to get closer to it, failed and tried again, or anytime someone told you "no" and you still went for it and you got "it",that is true success, whether the world knows it or not.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ciji...yes I know its you! You have really conveyed an important perspective on success. Many people feel put down even when their accomplishments are realized. More people should not depend on the opinions of others to determine just how successful they are.
ReplyDeleteI remember having a similar conversation with a student in college a long time ago. My girlfriend's dad had a Cadillac and we were trying to determine if having the Cadillac made the man "successful".
ReplyDeleteMy girlfriend's dad worked in the city sanitation department for 40 years. He raised a family, owned a house, and provided a college education for several of his children. When he retired, he purchased a Cadillac. One would think that this man was "successful" because he had provided for his family. However, I suspect that he did not consider himself successful until he purchased the Cadillac. Hhmmm, very interesting!
Success is more complex than we first might imagine. This is because there are so many facets to it. I think that I have been successful at some aspects of my life, but I have been far less successful at other aspects, I would think that a lot of other people would agree with that statement. I am also sure that a fair number of public figures (e.g., Tiger Woods) would fall into that category, also.
I think that I have been successful at my career. However, I am not pursuing the career that I dreamed of as a child (actually, my job in Information Technology didn't really even exist when I was a child). As such, from a career perspective, I think of myself as both successful for what I have accomplished in my career and as a failure for not having achieved my boyhood dreams. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? Perhaps, I should not feel the way I do. I am happy in my present career and I know people who achieved their childhood career dreams, but do not seem as content as I am.
I believe that as we are living and growing individuals, our failures can sometimes pave the way for our future successes. It is said that being cut from basketball tryouts early in his life made Michael Jordan work that much harder to be successful at basketball. Or as another example, if we failed at marriage the first time around, we might work a little harder to be successful at marriage the second time around. Or, if our health issues prevented us from achieving our original aspirations, we might consider ourselves very successful if we were able to adjust and pursue a different set of goals. There is a great deal of personal satisfaction in being able to successfully rise above our previous short-comings to achieve our goals.
I think that we all view success from the framework of a delicate balance between external perceptions of success (wealth, position, power, fame, etc.) and internal perceptions of success (values, personal satisfaction). I suspect that those of us such as myself that give more weight to the personal side of the balance, probably are more content overall, perhaps because our lives seem more self-directed.
There was a game called "Careers" that we played at our house when I was young. If I recall correctly, each player was awarded 60 points at the beginning of the game to be distributed between three personal goals;" Fame" , "Wealth", and "Happiness". At the end of the game you would check to see whether you achieved your desired level of "Fame", "Happiness", and "Wealth". I liked this game because you measured your "Success" against your own values. You could also have multiple winners at Careers.
It was always interesting to see how different people divided their points. Some people put all their points in "Wealth". Others put all their points into "Fame". For me I was mostly "Happiness", followed by "Wealth", and very little "Fame". I think that I have followed this distribution of "life points" to this very day.
In the "game of real life", I think I have been mostly successful because I have a lot of happiness and sufficient wealth to keep a roof over my head. I don't have much fame, but I never needed much anyway.
Bob H
Atlanta, GA
Bobby! This perspective is priceless. I love the way you made your words stand out with so much meaning by using the analogy between the game 'Careers' and real life. I can see clearly what you mean. I'm also happy that you are happy in your very own SUCCESS! Thanks so much for stopping by. Please look for other topics here at 'YOUR PERSPECTIVE...' from time to time.
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