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What Is Success?

What Is Success: A Universal Description For A Relative Concept

"Does God exist" is a question that academicians ask in philosophy classes all over the world. "What is the meaning of life?" is a question asked by inquisitive minds that may have spent too much time in introspection. "What is success?" Alas! Such is a question for the here and now, for each and every person regardless of age, gender, profession or creed.

The problem is, however, when we ask that specific question, we won't get a concrete answer.

Success means different things to different people. What may be considered successful for you may not be successful for me.

Hence, a corollary question to "what is success" should be asked: "Can success be defined in a universal manner?"

The Lesson Of "The Last Lecture"

One of the hottest selling books in the US today is The Last Lecture, an exposition by Randy Pausch. The last lecture is a staple of academic circles in the US, where, at the end of the final semester, a professor is asked to give the, well, last lecture where he will impart everything he wants to share with the graduating class.

Randy Pausch delivered more than the conventional last lecture. He delivered what can actually be his very last lecture.

You see, Pausch was diagnosed with cancer and he was given a mere 6 to 12 months to live. Within those 6 to 12 months, he wrote and published The Last Lecture, which can actually be considered as a speech in written form.

One of the topics he tackled is how we should take advantage of every opportunity because all we have is time… and eventually, like him, we will be told that we won't have enough time.

I am raising this point because I believe that the answer to the question we are asking here isn't really expository, rather, it is exploratory.

Allow me to explain…

What Is Success? Or, What Should Success Be?

Success should be defined in terms of goals. Once a goal is met, then we can say that the person is successful with regards to that goal.

Hence, a simplistic answer to our question is this: success is the accomplishment of particular goals.

However, there are different goals for different people. This is the problem we faced earlier in this article. Success is a relative concept. Can it be defined in a universal way?

It cannot.

At least, not if we try to define it in an expository manner.

Rather, success should be defined in an exploratory way. Success is all about seizing opportunities and conquering them. Success is not about the goals themselves, rather, the desire to reach such goals. Success is not about the accomplishment of these goals per se, rather, it's about the sense of fulfillment brought about by such achievements.

So, what is success? You decide!

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