Definition Of Success

Success is an interesting word to all of us, from the earliest age even to the grave’s edge we cannot be indifferent to it. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines success as the fact of getting or achieving wealth (“Success”). However, an

There are many different understandings of what success is. Some relate success to money, others relate success to happiness, but it all depends on the type of person.

The definition of success differs from person to person. According to the “Poolside” Cadillac commercial, success is having a large house, nice family and a new car. How is that success accomplished? According to the mainstream media, success is achieved through hard work and perseverance. Not by taking extravagant vacations, or working for only a few hours a day. Success for others on the other hand could be having a large amount of free time. The media gives examples of what they think success is, but ultimately it’s up to the person to decide what is success is.

The meaning of "success" has numerous interpretations, whether it is your own or society's definition. Within Outliers author Malcolm Gladwell explains that being successful has nothing to do with what kind of person you are, so whether you are intelligent and hardworking or lazy and aloof, it depends on your circumstances growing up. Whether your parents happen to be immigrants, you are one of the smartest men in the country or you make a habit of practicing an activity for a certain amount of hours a day, your own personal success, according to Gladwell is defined by the conditions you grew up in; the idea of being successful varies from culture to culture, therefore, there is no definite meaning of success other than one's interpretation.

To be successful has many interpretations, whether it be your own, from the dictionary or societies’ definition. Within Outliers author Malcolm Gladwell explains that being successful has nothing to do with what kind of person you are, so whether you’re intelligent and hardworking or lazy and aloof, it depends on your circumstances growing up. Whether your parents happen to be immigrants, you’re one of the smartest men in the country or you practice like there’s no tomorrow, your own personal success, according to Gladwell is defined by the conditions you grew up in; the idea of being successful varies from culture to culture and because of that there is no definite meaning of successful other than one’s interpretation.

Being successful in life is not always easy, because of different ways that success can be achieved. With many theories out there on success, it is hard to figure out what is needed to be done to gain success. In everyone’s lives there are many different beliefs out there that can lead to it. In the book “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell, there are numerous theories that are covered with examples of successful people. They clearly show how success can be done in not just one way but in many others. The most known people that are considered to be successful are billionaires and celebrities. They all have gained success in their lives in their own diverse ways. A good set of successful people in the world today to talk about are Mark Zuckerberg, Whitney Houston, and Nicholas Sparks. These people all come from different backgrounds before gaining their success. Malcolm Gladwell discussed many theories in the book “Outliers” that can relate to the success of the people mentioned above. The true knowledge behind success can be achieved in numerous ways.

Success, as described by Winston Churchill, is “…going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” This has taken on greater meaning in our modern day, as the path to success has seemingly become more complex. Is the American dream still valid? I would say yes, considering that we are currently in a recession. The term “American Dream” is used in a number of ways, but really the American Dream is an idea that suggests that all people can succeed through hard work, and that all people have the potential to live happy, successful lives. Many people have expanded or refined the definition of the American Dream. This concept has also been subject to a

Success to me is definitely an abundance of wealth; however, I believe that my strive towards this means so much more. My hard work will not equivocate to the stereotypical desire for materialistic happiness. I will need a lot more than that in life, because I know that true success is to provide for the people you love in order for them to be successful as well. Working hard to earn as much money as possible will allow me to help my parents buy the house of their dreams. Someday I will help my children go to any college of their choice no matter the cost. I want to be so financially successful that no one in my family will ever have to lose an great opportunity simply because we cannot afford it.

When trying to define the word success we can find other words with similar meanings. Words that can be used almost interchangeably with success, one such word is accomplish. Success and accomplish both indicate the end of a journey, a point that took a great deal of effort to reach. On the other hand, there is also an important difference in the two words. The word success in indicative of a good outcome, something that is happy.

Most people in today’s society define success as someone who makes a lot of money or has done something important to help form today’s society. People such as Bill Gates or Donald Trump are considered successful because they have lots of money. Even actors whose lives are wrecked and destroyed are considered successful because of the money they have. Others, like Thomas Edison, are considered successful because of accomplishments they achieved in their lives. Thomas Edison, for example, created the light bulb, so most people would consider him successful. In his book, Think & Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill gives 13 steps on how to have the right mindset, attitude, and ability to become successful.

To begin, many people define success as making a lot of money or having a really big house, but in reality it’s so much more than that. The world today commonly associates success with money, talent, and fame. Those who do not work hard or are just merely given such items like cars, clothes, jobs, fame, or houses are actually not very successful at all. For example, people like the Kardashian girls are viewed as gods by society today and have more money then anyone can think of. In reality, the Kardashians were just handed basically everything they now have today and are not successful in the sense of the word. They are not hardworking people who have endured failures and struggles during their lives due to being financially secure from their parents.

Whether you are successful or not depends on what the definition of success is to you. Not everyone has the same perspective. Do you find your happiness in how much money you make or do you find it in your moral surroundings? Many people have it easy; they grow up in a nice, wealthy family and are looked upon as “better than”, even if they are not the best type of personality to be around. Others, however, have a much more difficult time, being raised by those who do not have as much to offer to their children but offer as much as they possibly can to keep them alive and well. These people have to adjust to what they have come to know and rise above these disadvantaged backgrounds they experienced for so long. The differences are in how

What defines success? Is it making a lot of money? Is it getting a good education? Is it becoming world famous? Most people today define success as being these three things. Nowadays the majority of young adults are strongly encouraged to make a commitment to getting good grades, going to university and getting a high paying job. They are made to believe that is the only way they’ll ever be happy. But will that really make them happy? Not necessarily. There’s an old saying that says “Money can’t buy happiness” and it still holds true today. The Narcissism Epidemic a book written by two Psychology Professors reads “On average, materialistic people are less happy and more depressed. Even people who simply aspire to have more money suffer from poor mental health; they also report more physical health problems such as sore throats, backaches, and headaches and were more likely to drink too much alcohol and use illegal drugs. Striving for financial success, apparently, makes people miserable.”

Americans tend to define success by money, and what money can possibly buy. We judge off of popularity and social status. If you're not rich or in a major well known business or high paying job you're a failure. An antonym of success is unprofitable, according to Roget's Thesaurus of Words for Intellectuals. Three synonyms for success that caught my eye were moneymaking, hardworking and wealth. Gladwell states in his book Outliers that, “Success is a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard for 22 minutes to make sense of something that most people would give up on after 30 seconds.” ( Gladwell 127) Thus meaning that you must work towards success.

In this age in which we live, success is generally measured by the amount of money you earn, or the amount of wealth or power or number of promotions you’ve accumulated. I find that the older I grow, the more I view the people who are most happy and content with their lives as the most successful. Rich, poor or in between, they’ve tended to treat life as a journey, not a final destination. They took that trip when they were 25 even though they really couldn’t afford it, they ordered the $55 bottle of wine with their filet because they knew that even though it was expensive it would enhance the meal so much more than water would. They took a chance on a start-up company, moved to Europe or Asia and experienced things that most people only dream about. If they managed to grow wealthy from the experience, so much the better. As long as moderation with most things is practiced, things won’t spin out of control.