by Victoria Jeffrey

Created on: April 12, 2009   Last Updated: November 06, 2011

Finding success has different meanings depending on your attitude, upbringing and culture. In the US, success is often equated with wealth and material pleasures. While in a technical sense this can be a measure of success, that is not the kind of success that will be discussed here. There are simple ingredients that make for a successful life: common sense, compassion and foresight. Showing these qualities in all aspects of your life can make all the difference in a successful life full of happiness and one full of failure. Overall, a successful life is a life filled with contentment and happiness. This kind of success can be achieved by rich and poor alike.

The first thing in starting on the road to success is your attitude; how you feel about yourself and your attitude towards others. How you treat other people in your life can make a profound difference in the quality of life you will have. It makes a difference in whether you will find happiness or not and isn't that what we all want? Many people feel that acquiring success means stepping on others on your way to the top, but people who do this usually have very serious self esteem issues and eventually this kind of behavior will come back to hurt you. Success is partially dependent upon the relationships you cultivate with others. Are they genuine relationships or based on artifice? Are your relationships with associates and others outside the family circle based on respect? What about your relationships with friends and family? Are they abusive or emotionally draining relationships that take a toll on your well being? A good question to ask is are you the one that abuses and uses others? Examine what kind of interactions you have with others. If you find that your friends and others in your life are not bringing anything positive into your life, or if people shy away from you because of how you treat them you may need to examine why this is and take steps to improve either your own attitude towards people or your own self esteem. Now is the time to cultivate closeness with loved ones and positive relationships with those outside the family circle and cut off the users and abusers. How you treat others has a bearing on your health and happiness.

Let's look at compassion first. What kinds of things are important to you? Do you look for ways to be in service to others? You don't have to be wealthy to give to others. You can give of your money if you have it or your time if you don't have much in the way

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