The Failure Of Success

The book, Beastly Bones, mentions that , “Failure is not the opposite of success-it’s a part of it”. By this, the author, William Ritter means that failure is necessary for success and that we should not shame it, rather encourage it. Success is formally defined in three ways. First, success is defined as “the achievement of an aim or purpose”(“Google Dictionary” internet). Success is secondly defined as “the attainment of popularity or profit”(“Google Dictionary” internet). Success is finally defined as a “person or thing that achieves desired aim or prosperity”(“Google Dictionary” internet). Though success only has three formal definitions it can be interpreted in a myriad of ways, such as the attitude of perseverance, or the matter of satisfaction,

Multimillionaire, Chris Gardner demonstrates this aspect of success very well. Chris Gardner, his wife, Sherry, and son, Christopher, started off living in a compact Wisconsin apartment, struggling to make ends meet. Chris worked as a salesperson for bone-density scanners, where the market was very slow due to high product prices and the low demand for the machine. Sherry worked two full time jobs so the family could have some constant flow of income. Most of the time, they had no more than $500 in their bank account at a time. Eventually, Sherry grew tired of constant financially struggle and left Wisconsin to go work up North in New York, where she got a job at a Pizza Parlor, Leaving Chris and Christopher behind. Since Sherry left and the household income was limited, Chris could not pay for their apartment and was evicted because his rent was behind. Chris and Christopher then become homeless and lived in a shelter for almost a year. All the while this is happening, Chris was an intern at a Stock Broker company, in hopes of receiving a job there. Over this period of time Chris had no flow of income other than the occasional sale of his scanners, and his internship comes without pay, so he is at his all time low, having no job and bearing the responsibility of raising a child. However, his struggle finally ended when he was chosen from a pool of interns, concluding his internship, to receive a high paying job at the Stock Broker company. Chris Gardner went on to become a multimillionaire with a net worth of $60 million. He started as a poor, homeless salesman, and eventually became a successful and immensely wealthy businessman. Success is interpreted as the increase in socio-economic status and the achievement of financial