I first seriously asked the above question to my father when I
was around eleven and his answer was: perseverance. For a long while that
satisfied me, because my father is living proof. From a small village in Malawi ; he's eluded poverty to become a well known and respected business man.
But, I can’t say I really understood what he meant until much later.
Success is very subjective. Financial and materialistic
success are probably the most highly esteemed forms. Frank Sinatra said, “The
best revenge is massive success”. This quote resonates with a lot of people because it is popular belief that money and fame are success. A happy
guru, meditating in an ashram somewhere, is not as successful as a champagne
guzzling business executive with a supermodel wife, large estate and sports car.
Monetary success is important, but I’d agree with my dad
that success is not a result; it is the actual process of pursuing. The
more sedulous or deft you become at pursuing your targets; the more success
you’ll attain. In-fact, a recent psychology study revealed
that imagining materialistic success (i.e. the fancy car, wife, estate etc.) is
actually counter productive. We tend to relax about our goals if we can
effectively imagine how we’d feel if they were met.
Success is taking a risk into the unknown. Doing something
different! Money doesn't make you happier; it just opens possibilities. A
cocaine addicted celebrity and tycoon philanthropist are both wealthy but we
can guess which one of them is happier. But don’t take my word for it. Another recent
study revealed how, the more money you make the less able you are to savour
simple pleasures, thus the higher the chances of being unsatisfied and unhappy.
I guess when it comes down to it, all of us are self-made
but only the successful will admit it! Being successful is a state of doing, persevering with what you are passionate about.
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