My Definition of Success Essay example

Success has a unique meaning to everyone. To me, success means doing what I love, being happy, and to make good money.

What is success? How does one succeed in life? A few moments' thought will convince us that the question is by no means an easy one to answer. We say this, that, or the other man is successful, but what do we mean by it? One man has houses and lands, has a large bank account, drives fast horses and has many apparent friends, such a man is accounted successful. Yet all of these things that minister to his pleasure have been acquired by unremitting labor, by hard, avaricious dealings with his fellow-men, by trampling upon the hearts and affections of thousands; in the face of these facts is the man a successful one?

So many people today are still in this error of what success is. Having a lot of money, houses, cars, etc, is a good thing but it is just an aspect of success. You can have all the above mentioned items and more but you are not close to being successful. On the other side, you may not even have a dime in your bank account and yet you are successful.

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.

Success means many things to many different people. The definition in the dictionary says it is the “performance or achievement that is marked by success, as by the attainment of honors” ( Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 2 Sept. 2015.) therefore, it means that success mostly comes from hard work. To me, that is the exact definition. Having some kind of achievement can come from just about anything; work, sports, school and much more. No matter what, I do believe that whatever I set my mind to, I can and I will succeed in some kind of way.

Success, to some people, can mostly be defined by the amount of wealth a person has. This mind set, being very popular in today’s culture, has a very big influence over many people. Most people’s goals and ambitions include having more than some people or more worldly possessions. Many people perceive this mindset to be very bad. Although this mindset tends to be perceived as bad by many people, some people believe it is the only true way to be successful. Many people who achieve this sort of success tend to be very distant and generally not as happy as one would believe they would be. Having wealth, although it can be very good, tends to

For many people, success is simply getting paid the most. For others, it is as simple as achieving a goal they have set for themselves. To me, success is a combination of both achieving goals and living a fulfilling life. Financial success allows for careless actions. Social success brings about happiness.

In American society, individuals are heavily influenced to equate success with the measure of one’s degree of wealth. However, the measure of success does not rest solely on materialistic matters. The term is defined as “the accomplishment of one's goals,” revealing that success is not limited to one’s fortunes (Random House Inc.). In addition, success is not a term with a universally accepted set of specified goals; the strive for success varies among individuals, and the varying goals defining success are without bounds. Success is a personal goal that provides an individual with fulfillment, is measured with the effectiveness of an accomplishment, and is an endeavor that involves adversities.

But success could be something as simple as getting through a rough day, passing a test, talking to a crush or something big, such as successfully climbing a mountain, or being accepted into a religion. Success is based on personal beliefs; everyone accomplishes success in their own way. It is opinionated, some definitions of success may not be the same as other people’s definition. Do not let others influence the positivity within success. A study at Strayer University discovers that, “A whopping 90% believe that success is more about happiness than power, possessions, or prestige.” (search). This shows that Americans are trying to change the usual definition, created by Merriam-Webster, “the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame.” (search). Create a personal definition of success and then go above and beyond it. Are people strong enough to stick to their beliefs and not change based on others? Saying that one isn’t influenced by others, but acting like they can, can sometimes show the truth. Business Insider backs this statement up, “We like to think that we are largely in control of our day-to-day lives, yet most of what we do, from what we eat to who we sleep with, and even the way we feel, is significantly influenced by those around us’ and those around them, and those around them.” (Business). Never let others determine the happiness associated with your success; you are

Some people believe that being successful is when you have a lot of money, living in a big house and having a nice car. For me, it is not. Just like Arianna Huffington said: “ while we tend to think of success along two metrics — money and power — we need to add a third.” For me the third one is being happy. That is true, if you can always be happy in your life. It must be the most successful life. So to be success in my life, I will be smiling to face my challenges and accomplish them.

When one hears the word “success”, he or she typically thinks of having a nice car, a large home, and plenty of money. But, success has nothing to do with the materialistic things. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, success is a favorable or desired outcome. Therefore, success isn’t the amount of possessions someone has, it is being content with his or her situation.

Do you really known the definition of success? Or are you still letting the media feed you the paragon of success? He’s rich, famous, happy, joyful, and intelligent and has the ideal family, or are we knowledgeable enough to distinguish the real definition of “success” from the media and mainstream perception of success. Media has brainwashed us think that success has to look a certain way, we have to have nice cars, fancy houses and the latest technology to be considered “successful”. However, that is not the case, the true definition of success is having knowledge, respect and confidence which are hard to accomplish in today's society, but not impossible.

Americans are looking for the greater things in life. Everyone seems either unhappy with their jobs, or just do not have one, but then there are the few Americans that do what they love five days a week. The concept of success is misunderstood massively throughout the world. The idea of it is tossed around, because of how people see it. Different people have different perspectives of success. The term success can be defined in many ways whether it be by how much money a person has, the type of job a person has, or they are successful just by the expectations they set for themselves. Success can be accomplished through motivation, opportunity, and patience, not all of these are easy to obtain, but in due time they will prevail.

When I think of success, I think of a bumper sticker I saw once which

I prefer sitting at a coffee shop to do works or read a favorite book, and sometimes taking idly thoughts and wondering myself, “ How does a rich person define success? Or, that, having lots of money, living in a big house, and owning all of the latest cars, fashions, and technology is the key to happiness, and hence, success ?” I believe that the definition of success is deeply personal and surely will be different for every man. I may have lived only nineteen years of the seventy years I might go on to live, however, success is the thing that I am going to carry with throughout my lifelong, and I know it to sufficiently to