The Secret of Success

Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a book titled “How to Succeed in Life”? I can only imagine what the content would be… the author would discuss all of the trials and tribulations that we all face in our daily lives, and then would provide some profound insight on how to coherently put the pieces back together. She might talk about karma and the belief that if you do something good for someone it will come back around to bring you joy. There would be a whole introduction dedicated to time management and taking full advantage of every second. She would lightly dust the pages with inspiring thoughts on how to achieve your goals while relating these quotes to reality. The book would be full of stories and pictures outlining the life of a successful person. If we so desired, we could model our lives after this incredible superhuman who succeeded in everything that they did. Then, the author would conclude with a series of questions, “In what ways would you like to succeed?” “What do you perceive in your life as a success?” “What are you willing to sacrifice to succeed in your life?”  She would challenge the reader to step outside of what they know, to a world where anything was possible. What an idea, the book of success…

I feel like people have already tried to write this book, but I doubt that anyone has ever accomplished their goal of living a successful life. The reason? The definition of success is very vague. Depending on whom you ask and what they’ve experienced, each individual will give you a different answer. For some, success is living a loyal life dedicated to a job and a family. For others, success means accomplishing a goal worthy of praise. And so maybe that is the answer; it is not a matter of failure or success, but rather how you judge yourself at the end of the day. You may have heard it a thousand times, but in this world your worst enemy, your best friend, and your harshest critic is you. I personally believe that everyone has their own vocabulary for success, for me I think integrity; I think motivation, strength and persistence. For me success does not come in a nice neat package, and will not be something that I can physically grasp when I’m 80 years old. Success will be in the eyes of the people that I touch throughout my life. Success will return to me in the laughter that will echo in my mind as I grow old. Success will reveal itself through the loved ones in my life, and will continue after I have passed away. It is not tangible, yet it lingers just out of my reach constantly pushing me to strive for more.