A Definitive Success
In today’s society, there seems to be great emphasis on achieving ”success.” When we recognize someone as being successful, we tend to offer them more respect and look up to them, and even pay more for their products or services. While working to become successful in our own lives, we are perhaps unconsciously looking to gain more respect, and all the benefits associated with it.
Pointing fingers and categorizing people seems to be a common habit our culture has created, fully embraced, and accepted as the norm. Furthermore, not only is this habit accepted, but it is actually promoted and published in the media for everyone in the world to see: Success is a label we sometimes stamp on people, often unconsciously:
Real Estate Success“Wow, she’s successful!” Or, “Wow, what a failure he is!”
However, “success” is a slippery, relative, and often hard to define term. I have heard many different expressions for what people believe success to be. The noun itself is defined in the dictionary with two definitions: “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose”, or “the attainment of fame, wealth, or social status.”
Some will argue it is considered egotistical to self declare your own success, so this leaves it up to others to determine your success status. Taking into account this dictionary definition, this becomes difficult and questions arise: If you’re not considered to be famous, wealthy, or have a high social status, does this mean you are not a success? If you have a high social status, but are dead broke, does this mean you are still considered a success? If so, from whose perspective and who gets to decide? It is difficult for someone other than yourself to determine your success if they do not properly understand your aim or purpose. As Ichiro Suzuki says, “Personally, I don't like the term 'success.' It's too arbitrary and too relative a thing. It's usually someone else's definition, not yours.”
Perhaps the word “successful” rather than “success” is more suitable for determining the worth or value of a person. The dictionary tells us that the adjective “successful” has two definitions: “accomplishing an aim or purpose,” or “having achieved fame, wealth, or social status.”
This does not appear to be much clearer; so, what does becoming a “success” really mean? It all depends on your own personal perception of what you believe success to be. Consider the following example:
A bartender at a local restaurant is working hard when two gentlemen, both well dressed in top quality suits, come in for lunch. While making small talk, the bartender discovers that they own a partnership and it is doing well; they purchase and sell a very popular ‘widget.’ He stops and considers how successful he would feel if he was in their position and decides that hands down, to him they are a success.
Now view this story from another point of view:
A businessman and his business partner go for lunch at a busy local restaurant. They chat with the bartender, and after speaking with him about his business, he is very impressed with what a confident and engaging young man the bartender is. The businessman can tell he really enjoys what he does, and he respects and appreciates that. To him, the bartender is seen as a success.
Both the bartender and businessmen perceive the other as being successful, and therein lies the key to determining who is or isn’t successful - it is all about perception. How you perceive an event, situation, circumstance, or person always needs to be taken into consideration when defining its success.
According to some of the most “successful” business people I have spoken and met with, to them success means nothing about fame, wealth, or status. Perhaps they run multi-million dollar companies, but this is not the only indicator of success. In fact, success to them means that they are constantly experiencing something new both personally and professionally, or that they are continuously growing their own sense of self.
Much like beauty, success is always in the eye of the beholder.
