by Birte Edwards

Created on: April 12, 2009   Last Updated: April 15, 2009

In order to answer this one, we must take a good look at the keywords here: success, circumstances and obstacles. Are we talking about social status ranking, are we talking about reaching objective or goal, or are we talking about success being the opposite of failure. (from wikipedia)

Success: 1. outcome, result; 2a a degree or measure of succeeding; b favorable or desired outcome; 3 one that succeeds

Circumstances: 1 a: a condition, fact, or event accompanying, conditioning, or determining another; 2 a: the sum of essential and environmental factors; b: state of affairs; (and two others, not relevant here).

Obstacles something that impedes progress or achievement All definitions from from Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary

WE should also ask: Who is the judge of the success? My perspective or the perspective of my peers?

To look at success as the opposite of failure, is to take a very narrow approach to the question. It's seeing the world in black and white, and ignoring all the other colors and shades in between. Like with most aspects of life they are multifaceted, and so is the question of success.

Many people look on success as a question of social status. The higher the social status the greater the success. The is a pure case of one person or group judging the success of others. In this scenario we have no indication of how the person or group feel about the achievement.

The question of whether the person and/or the outsider see success is more blurred when looking at achievement, the reaching of goals or objectives. In sports, both the sportsman and the audience will see success in the same event. In other fields, like art and writing, the outsider may not see the success, as there may not be any public recognition of the artist. The artist himself may consider his work as success in having expressed his thoughts and feelings in his creations.

So in all instances there is the question of the eye of the beholder.

I have yet to talk to or read about someone considered successful who has taken the success for granted. Almost all famous, successful people knew what they wanted, created goals, and stayed with them till they had been reached. In the process of reaching these goals, new goals were set along the way, unless the original goal was so big that there was no need to set new ones

Just read a few sayings of such people:

The first requisite for success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies to one problem incessantly without growing weary

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>