Are You a SUCCESS????
By bird123
@bird123 (10643)
United States
September 11, 2011 12:33am CST
You have worked hard. You have finally made it over the top. You have lots of money. You are the envy of all your friends. You have the fancy cars, the giant house with all the amenities. Let's not forget the expensive clothes,and jewelry you adorn yourself with. You strut down the street with pride thinking you are finally somebody.
Are you a success?? Many will say yes, but do they really see the truth?? Who have you hurt on your road to wealth? Who have you stepped on or taken from to accumulate that much? Now that you are there, do you realize that many will be hurt when you flaunt your wealth? What purpose does your wealth serve? Is it to help others or just self gratification?? Is this really Success??
Don't get me wrong. Acquiring lots of money isn't always a bad thing. Many have done this without hurting others. Next, they use their wealth to help mankind and the world. The choices are ours to make. Is it about us or is it about everyone?
In conclusion, success really isn't about money. If you give love and kindness to everyone you meet. Help those you can and encourage those you can't. You will be a success no matter how much money you make, more so than some of the greedy people in this world who so many are striving to be like. We each have the power to choose how we define ourselves. Let's not just follow the money for there are so many more important things in life.
3 people like this
10 responses
@jennyze (7028)
• Indonesia
12 Sep 11
To many others I may not be a success, but to me I accepted what I got now as my own success. Meaning that I may not have a house, I may not have lots of money in my bank, I may not even that look and figure of super model, but hey, this is me. I made it to live comfortably (in my own standard) and make piece with myself. So, to me that is definitely a success. Especially when I see other who seems to have everything but are not happy and still searching for something else to make their life a thrill...
@bird123 (10643)
• United States
12 Sep 11
You mean you aren't a Supermodel????? . Well now, there goes that image I had of you in my mind. On the other hand, it must be that wonderful spirit you have, along with your ability to touch others in a positive way. Yes. I would consider you a success. 
. Well now, there goes that image I had of you in my mind. On the other hand, it must be that wonderful spirit you have, along with your ability to touch others in a positive way. Yes. I would consider you a success. 
@starsailover (7829)
• Mexico
12 Sep 11
Hi bird: I think you have a really good point on this subject. Actually I think as you do that money shouldn't be our final goal in life because if that's the idea we may take the wrong decisions. Wherever we want to go or whatever we want to do with our lives, we shouldn't forget our ethical values and to be responsible of our actions for example not hurting people. Nice discussion thanks.
ALVARO
@bird123 (10643)
• United States
13 Sep 11
Yes, even in work choices, sometimes the right choice makes less money. A wise man once told me. Find work that you really love to do because you will spend much of your life doing it. So choose. More money;hate the work OR less money; love what I do.
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
11 Sep 11
i totally agree with you... we can't use material things only as a standard to measure success... there are lots of other things that have to be considered to measure success... lots of people in this world who don't own lots of material things but i consider them as successful people as they make contributions to this world, they show their love and care for the needy, etc... take care and have a nice day...
@kenzie45230 (3560)
• United States
11 Sep 11
I don't think success has one bit to do with money. It has to do with how you treat people, whether your family and friends are proud of you (ie your character, not your wallet). It has to do with how much pleasure you get from whatever career path you've chosen (again, not how much money you've made). It has to do with how much you've reached down to help others along the ladder of life. Money has nothing at all to do with it. Some of the poorest people I've known have been the most successful.
That being said, some of the greediest people I've known have been the poor or middle class who want to steal the riches of those who have worked hard for their money and status. Those greedy folks want what the "rich" have without ever working for it. And that is sad.
@GemmaR (8517)
•
11 Sep 11
I think that I am a success, and I have worked very hard over the past couple of years in order to make my dreams a reality. I work online, and don't have an offline job, which means that I have to work hard in order to make enough money to pay my bills and also save up for a flat that I am saving up for at this moment in time. I need to publish a lot more articles if I want to be able to do this, but I am confident that I will be able to do what I want to in the near future, as I have the drive to do as well as I would like to do.
@bird123 (10643)
• United States
12 Sep 11
If you are making a living totally online, you are indeed a success. It isn't an easy thing to do. I know many have tried. I hope everything works out well. When people attain success through hard work and intelligence then they deserve a thumbs up.
I hope everything works out well. When people attain success through hard work and intelligence then they deserve a thumbs up. 
@pickwick (858)
• India
11 Sep 11
Hi Bird.True that one can choose what to do with their wealth.But finally what is sucess?What people think about you or what you feel about yourself?Many consider themselves successful when they achieve the money they had targeted .Many feel successful when they have enough man support because of their nature.But I feel the real success is when one is deeply satisfied and content the way their life is.May be its creativity.Maybe its a spiritual level they have achieved.Money is also imprtant as I do not believe that poverty is a virtue - rather abundance is a blessing.Abundance means lots of material wealth, lots of innovative ideas , creativity.So for each one success is different.
@bird123 (10643)
• United States
11 Sep 11
Lots of good points here. Poverty is not a virtue. It exists for several reasons. Sometimes because there are lessons some will learn from it. Sometimes it's caused by the people who are stepping on others to accumulate money or power. Go look at the birds outside. Have you ever seen a starving Robin?? This planet is capable of feeding everyone if the people choose that instead of making money more important. Yes, success is different for everyone. I question how one can define success making it only about themselves. Abundance is wonderful but must we place physical possessions above all those other wonderful things like creativity, innovative ideas, love and kindness? Diversity in this world is important. How we define ourselves and the choices we make in life show God and the world what lessons we need to learn. Learning always follows.
@bulastika (5966)
• Philippines
11 Sep 11
If your successful it does not mean you have hurt somebody just to get rich. Theirs so many people who get rich but are nice people. And theirs so many poor who is worth than the animals. If you are successful and rich it does not mean that you have stepped other people just because you want to get rich.
@bird123 (10643)
• United States
11 Sep 11
Yes, there are those who have gotten rich not stepping on any toes. That is possible, however many step on toes in such a way that you don't recognize what is really going on. Once rich, one also can make the choice of what to do after that. Can one really be successful being selfish and greedy??
@kingparker (9673)
• United States
11 Sep 11
First of all, if I am a such a success by making that much money, I won't be posting discussions or answering discussions from others here. I will be far too busy to plan out my future to make more money since I am that greedy. Second of all, if my success really hurting someone else, that is unavoidable. In life, we bump into each other, maybe we were unconscious about it, but we do best not to step on other people's toes. In conclusion, by the definition of success on my personal dictionary, without significant amount of wealth, I am such a loser. I won't get the girl I like in my life I guess.
@bird123 (10643)
• United States
11 Sep 11
OK kingparker, let's really THINK. Do you really want the girl who loves you only because you have money??? Where will she be if somehow you lose your money in life?? She will be gone. Now this girl might be really physically beautiful but all physical beauty fades. You will wake up one day ready to leave her, yourself. Surely, your value is worth much more than how much money you have. It's time to focus on all those qualities that make you special. Yes, if you are to discover happiness, you must change your view. Since we are all spiritual beings in our true natures, look in that direction to discover truth and happiness. Know the when your true love does arrive, she might not be the most physically beautiful person ,however it will be better than all the runway models you could find. Always be open for true love. It tends to show up when we least expect it.
@hafiz008 (450)
• India
11 Sep 11
Money is the yardstick to measure the Success. I agree with the statement that walking proudly can result to hurt the society and even we will get curse. In my opinion if one has good wealth and he must live like the majority a common man live. One must have to spend his wealth to mankind and charity because there are many people who are dying without food. One will not take his money along with his grave. If you spend money for good deed you will be rewarded on the day of judgement. So be human and one will get success when you make one happy.
