Do you know someone rich and famous? Is that person confident, popular, and joyful all of the time—the epitome of mainstream success? Or, on the other hand, is the person stressed, having second thoughts about his life choices, and unsure about the meaning of his life? I am willing to bet that it is the second one. Mainstream marketing and media have effectively brainwashed our society into accepting a false, even potentially dangerous definition of success. Marketers want us to believe 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. This overstated, falsely advertised myth is hardly ever the case in real life. True success requires respect, appreciation, integrity, and patience—all of which are traits that by human nature are genuinely difficult to attain—especially in the face of modern marketers who relentlessly deceive us, control our thoughts, and usurp our independence in order to increase their bottom line.
According to the entries on the word “success” on dictionary.com, there are several definitions of “success.” The first definition is “the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors; the accomplishment of one's goals.” This definition focuses on traits of human nature such as dedication to becoming the best person one can be. The focus is on internal rather than external goals. The second seems to reinforce the definition marketers want us to believe about success, “the attainment of wealth, position, honors.”
There are thousands of quotations about success written by inventors, politicians, philosophers, and authors throughout the ages. In her article “100 Motivational Quotes that Will...
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...uffington Post.com. 17 Sept 2014 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lolly-daskal-/100-motivational-quotes-t_b_4505356.html
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Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "What Is Success." Yuni.com. Yuni Library, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2014. http://www.yuni.com/library/docs/651.html
FitzPatrick, Bill. "Action Principles." Success.org. American Success Institute. 17 Sept 2014 http://www.success.org/
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she treated Jane as if she were her own daughter. We realize now that Jane
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts”
from the beginning of the novel, Jane is very much in a female occupied environment with her
At this time Jane would have a been a very young, small girl, and the
Success is, in many ways, a branch of perspective, and yet societal norms seem to dictate what many view as success. Through my personal experience, and through the reading of Frederick Douglas I believe that the idea of personal success, in correlation with perspective, is a subject worthy of debate. Dissecting the difference of what many view as success and what may actually be success is essential for growth personally, and for people collectively. For example; currently many in our society view triumph as the acquisition of a copious monetary status, usually preceded, or followed by recognition for actions, ideas, etc… whether or not one views these actions or ideas worthy of widespread recognition. Nevertheless I myself believe that
Estrem, Pauline. "Why Failure Is Good for Success." Thesis. N.d. (n.d.): n. pag. SUCCESS. Success Magazine, 2013. Web. 02 Jan. 2014
Rob Spiegel’s essay “Want to Succeed, Lose a Little” explains two novelists opinion on failure and success. Novelist Ernest Hemingway expresses that “ I write from the authority of success.” On the there hand novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald had a different view on success, Fitzgerald said “I write from the authority of failure.” Fitzgerald response was completely accurate in my case.
To most of us, they say they can spot success at first glance. Generally by the car one drives or how one is dressed. Some might see it by how healthy or how happy one feels. Merriam Webster's Dictionary states that success is “the fact of getting wealth, respect, or fame.” If one where to adopt this definition of success, one might go on to living a life of materialism. This mindset is deceitful and will only reward you with short term happiness, like a drug addict searching for a quick fix. For one to be ultimately successful, one must be able to overcome hardships and possess qualities like integrity, pride and patience which no amount of money in the world could buy. These qualities will make anyone strive in most, if not all the difficult obstacles one must face in life.
The word success can have multiple meanings. It can be viewed as a synonym for wealth, triumph, accomplish, winning, and prosperity. While all of these synonyms appear to represent that of something positive, the most common misconception with regards to the word success is that it is linked to happiness. F. Scott Fitzgerald attempts to caution readers of this common misconception within his story, “Winter Dreams”, which highlights a young man’s failed attempt at achieving personal happiness when he tries to find it through pursuing a life of success and status. Despite many false beliefs, wealth is not always accompanied with a blissful, worry-free life.
Success is not earning a fat juicy check at the end of each month, or being a part of a large social group filled with fraudulent people that appear as familiar faces. But it is a person discovering him or herself after they had been lost and establishing a sense of purpose that makes them fills them with a warm glowing sense of accomplishment. Success does not have one transparent definition, it has various meanings depending on what success means to the individual trying to achieve it. Success is surviving.
'One has achieved success who has lived well and laughed often.'; This quote seems to sum up what is meant by success. If you are able to laugh often and much then you have definitely achieved happiness. The idea of living well, though, is a very broad statement. In order, then, to define success in relation to this statement, we must first define what it means to live well. There are three levels of success, in my opinion: societal success, personal success, and academic or professional success. If someone can achieve all of these three levels of success, they are someone who has lived well.
For a few of us, success is being a stay-at-home housewife, successfully bringing up your youngsters. For others, success might be instructing or directing. To others, success might be characterized by the measure of instruction you accomplished. You may feel that you need to get your doctorate degree, in light of the fact that every other person in your family has done likewise. Nobody can figure out what success is to you, yet you. There are excessively a large number of us living miserable lives, since we are effectively accomplishing brief comment another person happiness, which implies that you are unsuccessful to
Success takes many different definitions. People have different interpretations of what success really means. For me is as simple as: living well and laughing often. The idea of living well is a very broad statement. Living well, in my opinion is getting success in personal, social and professional life. If I can achieve all of these three levels of success, I believe that I have lived well.
There are few words that possess a positive connotation to the extent that people will become invigorated and inspired just at the mention of it; Success is one of these words that cause an elaborate collaboration of emotions, which is usually summated by the emotions of elated happiness and paralyzing fear. Along with the emotional reverberation that the mere mention of the word causes, it is also plagued by numerous interpretations. Many times the cerebral vision that society pictures when contemplating success is a prodigious amount of money, with luxury cars and private jets to boot; however, this is a very superficial viewpoint of success, and many of the wealthiest people that inhabit the world are also the least successful. The ways that success can be defined are near infinite, but compiling a large sum of physical possessions is definitely not one of them. Success is the participation in activities and recreation that prompt you to live a life enriched with enjoyment, altruism and a feeling that what you have done and are doing in life is helping to benefit the entirety of society.
Success may be defined in many ways by many people. According to Oxford English Dictionary, it is, “the prosperous achievement of something attempted.”(“Success”). That is, if one achieve his/her desire or goals, it would be considered as his/her success. But it is true that the definition and explanation varies according to the eye of beholder. Generally, Success means fulfilling the goals that you set for your life. For some, success may be money, big house and a luxury car. However, for others, success may be the happiness they feel after achieving their goal. I personally feel, success is not what is accomplished, but what is felt from