Wealth should not be the only sign of success. Money allows people to have prestige and material wealth however, having an excess amount of money does not necessarily make someone feel happier or more successful. Continuing to believe that success is defined through economic wealth and gain will limit a person’s definition of success. In the next seventy to eighty years the new Myth of Money and Success will have an immense influence on the thoughts and actions of Americans. My definition of the new myth is more diverse and inclusive and it will provide equal opportunity to enable everyone to create their own success. The Myth of Money and Success will be defined by the components of happiness such as betterment of self, role in a community, and personal relationships. …show more content…
With each component people can pick different aspects and then determine for themselves what they can improve on. Success is going to be determined by true contentment, and from within, having a meaning in our lives beyond money. Being successful is not going to require validations from others however, it is going to boil down to what one’s unique meaning of success is. Real success comes from living your life in accordance with your own true nature, and being yourself. The myth will take more than seventy years to become reality because it is hard to not compare ourselves to the people around us and the celebrities depicted on TV. The United States does not grant everyone the same opportunities and equality; we are a long way for Americans to be
Generally speaking, success isn’t just about what you accomplish in life, it’s how you accomplished it and the impact you
America has forever long been looked upon as the land of opportunity, yet for just as long struggled with the actual attainment of equal opportunity by all of its citizens. The lines of this inequality have b...
´´ If one advances confident in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. ’’ These words were spoken by Henry David Thoreau.Success is within the mind of the individual. A large portion of one´s life is spent working to become successful. People are told throughout childhood to work hard so they can grow up and achieve all of their dreams. But success takes many different forms. Different people have different interpretations of what success means to them. It does not matter how related they are to each other in certain áreas they always have a different point of view of what success really is. For some success is measured by social status and wealth
"Money and Success: The Myth of Individual Opportunity." Rereading America. Eds. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, Boston: Bedford / St. Martins, 2001.295-297.
As children, we have all fantasized about being wealthy; owning a stunning home, driving extravagant cars, and being married to Prince Charming. Throughout society, people concentrate on certain things to push them to prosper in life. The focus people have is to live a life that is far from poverty, to succeed and get to the top, rather than to beg and be unsuccessful. Fundamentally, we dream of the flawless life with the picture-perfect spouse. Generally, this idea is known as the “American Dream”, which is the feeling that if one works hard, that person will prosper by becoming wealthy. When people think of the “American Dream” it is often associated with happiness and wealth. As society would have it, it takes money to be happy and economic standing to be acknowledged. As all of these modules may make one “happy” out of obliviousness, they will never grasp the happiness they are truly in search of.
Money constitutes the American Dream, because in America, to be successful in life means being wealthy. We live in an industrialized nation, in which money controls our very own existence. The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara establishes an argument about society’s injustice that entails financial opportunities by revealing the differences in living conditions between upper class and lower class. Another important point Stephen Cruz, a successful business person and a Professor at the University of Wisconsin at Platteville, makes in his speech is that the American Dream is getting progressively ambiguous, because the vision of success is being controlled by power and fear which only benefit 1 percent of Americans. For most people, the American Dream is to be financially stable to the point of content; however, realistically the accomplishment of the American Dream is often obstructed by society’s limitations and influences from higher power.
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.
To Be Successful America was formed largely on the idea that each individual has the opportunity to succeed however he or she sees fit, because every individual has right to work to the best of his or her ability. While the American Dream, as defined by James Adam, is an ideology that dictates that everyone is provided the opportunity to live better, fuller, and richer lives, the fact of the matter is that one’s American Dream is subjective to who the individual is. Today’s general American Dream is largely defined by someone’s financial success. This success is usually interpreted by how much money and status a person can obtain, because monetary value or reputation appears to determine a person’s social standings in the United States
Success is within the mind of the individual. A large portion of ones life is spent working to become successful. People are told throughout childhood to work hard so they can grow up and make lots of money. But success takes many different forms. Different people have different interpretations of what success means to them. For some, success is measured by social status and wealth; for others success is determined only by the amount of happiness one feels.
According to the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson stated that, “all men are created equal.” It signifies that all men are equally endowed with rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, every human being’s life is equal in value. It does not matter how old, young, poor, or weak a person may be. No one should be excluded from the opportunities to contribute to society and live life freely. Every human being’s life is just as worthy of respect as any other, but our equal worth as human beings does not convey that we are treated equally in every sense or situation. An example of inequality that exemplifies that Americans are not all treated equally is wealth disparity because it discriminates against the poor, while it privileges the rich.
Equality is thought of by many when thinking about America, the land of the free. Equality is more of a goal, not something you’re born with. It’s a fight that you strive to win just to be equal as those around you whether it be for good or worse. Equality is almost like a luxury, though no matter where you stand there’s going to be someone, whether higher or lower, that doesn’t treat you that way. You could be the richest and the poor will see you do not deserve it. You could be poor and the rich will not even look at you.
"The worst form of inequality is to try and make unequal things equal." Aristotle. By saying this, it means based on the Constitution, equality is not achievable for an individual in society. Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment banned slavery in the United States, but on March 4th, 2005, a husband and wife were found guilty of torturing a held slave for over 6 years. (Latest slave found in the United States) Yet still, many believe that based on the Constitution, equality is possible, but will take a several years to progress into that stage, all the United States needs is just more passed laws and enforcement to provide the same opportunities to everyone, no matter the color,
The materialistic value of money is unable to offer true happiness. However, factors such as family and friends can provide happiness to everyone. Prosperity cannot be bought, no matter how much money is spent. The only thing that can cause you to be truly happy is the memories you made in your life time with friends and family. Money can help get something off your mind by spending it, but the memories you made while spending your money will make you smile at any time in life. You can socialize with your loved ones and create memories with them. You do not always have to spend money to be happy, but you could make jokes and have a great time to create memories.
Money has become the first priority in peoples’ life. It has become the necessity for being success. Many believe that money is the only way to success. They work hard to earn a lot of money and to make their life more comfortable and easy. Once Bill Gates said, ”If you were born poor, that’s not your fault, but if you die poor that’s your fault.” So many people run after money throughout their life to become success. Some people also believe popularity as being success. People work hard throughout their life to become a renowned person in this world and believe they need to look rich in order to be
“Money is number and numbers never end if it takes money to be happy your search for happiness will never end.” (Bob Marley). For the majority of people in our modern-capitalist world, money is the first thing, and sometimes the only thing that measures success in life. Money can buy power. Money can buy fame. Money can buy time. Sometimes money can even buy a life. So money has become the first common goal for everybody. There are many different perspectives, and how people view the world, in terms of success, and money. Money is not the root of all evil, but the love of money is the root of all evil.