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Essays on defining success
Concept of achieving success
Essays on defining success
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In The Razor’s Edge, W. Somerset Maugham explores the different meanings of success, through the conflicting ideals of his characters. The different interpretations of success are shown prominently through the views of Elliott Templeton and Laurence Darrell. Elliot for most of his life views success as becoming socially eminent and Larry believes success is happiness and the reaching of a state of enlightenment. The epigraph of The Razor’s Edge, “The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard” (Katha-Upanishad as cited by Maugham) applies to both Larry and Elliott because both of them had to get over significant hurdles in their views in order to find peace within themselves. In my opinion, success is when a person feels a sense of accomplishment when they realize they have reached their goals in life. In my opinion, Elliott Templeton has a thoroughly misguided view on the true meaning of success for the majority of his life, and this has resulted in his snobbish attitude towards the lower classes of society. Elliot’s views a successful person as someone who is a prominent social figure and well-acknowledged by others. Elliott’s narrow-minded views in life are apparent when in his frail condition, he shows little concern for his health and focuses on, “The best party of the season! If I were on my deathbed I’d get up for it. I’ve got the costume of my ancestor, the Count de Lauria, to wear” (Maugham 226), showing that social gatherings and his view on success mean more to him than his own life. Elliott holds the belief that even in Heaven there is, “…no doubt that I shall move in the best society in heaven…. It would be highly unsuitable to lodge the hoi polloi ... ... middle of paper ... ...from seeing it as a necessary evil. The difference between Elliott and me, is that Elliott’s definition of success depends on acknowledgment from social peers, and my definition of success rather relies on my own motivation and judgment on my success in life. The similarities and differences among Larry, Elliott, and my views shows just how different people look at success in different ways. There are many different facets to success, and W. Somerset Maugham explores these different aspects through his diverse set of characters in The Razor’s Edge. However, Maugham makes each of his characters value success in only one way, without considering that in the real world every person values success in several different ways. My own definition of success is an example of this, because I value success through material accomplishments and through its intangibles.
Everyone has their own vision of success. For some,it is being rich and famous and for others it is to have a great impact on the world. In the first chapter of outliers Gladwell claims that success is something you need to work for in some ways, he fails to come up with a solution for people that became successful without working for it.
We all understand what success is, but what allows for a person to become successful? Malcolm Gladwell wrote his book Outliers to study this topic and settle once and for all why some people are more successful than others. Gladwell uses the success stories of people throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to discover just exactly what it is that allows for one to be successful. He explains that there is much more to becoming successful than just natural talent and skill. Gladwell states in Outliers that success is the product of the time we were born, our dedication, and most of all where we come from.
...your own personal idea of success. Gatsby's ideas of successful maybe have become corrupted with greedy but that does not mean it lives on now. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past" (Fitzgerald, Pg. 189) striving for the real American dream of personal success.
The definition of success varies around the world, but according to Malcolm Gladwell its achievement can be broken down into a few components. Although Gladwell never truly establishes credibility in his book Outliers, he still backs up his proposed theories with reputable studies and sources which intrigue the audience to keep reading.The purpose of Outliers was to enlighten people about the different elements of success while also informing them of real life situations where seemingly less than likely people beat the odds and became the powerful figures that they are today. The intended audience is anyone who is looking to become successful or who is perhaps interested in the idea of success itself and wishes to learn more about it. Understandably, a secondary audience could be high school students who are about to venture out into the world on their own because with this book they will hopefully start paying attention to different factors of their lives and seizing opportunities that they may have otherwise passed up. Malcolm Gladwell talks about the 10,000 Hour Rule and also how I.Q. does not amount to much without creativity. He also speaks of how chance opportunity comes into play and that the distant background of a person still reflects how they handle situations in their present day life. Gladwell’s Outliers successfully informs the reader about the different components that add up to success with probable theories and credible studies to make for an interesting and motivational read.
There is no concrete definition for success, and there is not a foolproof way to obtain it, but it is something many strive for. In Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell explains, with examples of successful people throughout history, that hard work along with a little bit of luck and willingness to seize every opportunity is the only way to become successful. Malcolm Gladwell illustrates throughout the story external factors that are mostly uncontrollable and internal factors like hard work that are very controllable lead to these outliers and unimaginable success stories.
Success: Accomplishing Your Dream Completing the "American Dream" is a controversial issue. The American Dream can be defined as having a nice car, maybe two or three of them, having a beautiful, healthy family, making an impact on the world, or even just having extra spending money when the bills are paid. In the play "Death Of A Salesman," by Arthur Miller, the "American Dream" deals with prosperity, status, and being immortalized.
Success means to live a life in alignment with what brings us real joy. In my case, “success-joy” comes in many guises. At times, in being persistent with my current dreams, others, investing time and energy in what makes my life shine, and that is, without a doubt, when my life is at service of humanity and when I cultivate happy and healthy close relationships. I tend to define success as a state of being, a constant process of unfolding rather than a place to arrive. It is the journey of getting to know ourselves, in order to fully occupy every aspect of what we are; a forever changing aspiration, a state of being in which we realize that life’s greatest rewards spring from our capacity to relate to adversity in innovative ways. I have also discovered that real success shows up again when we debunk and deconstruct every single stereotype and assumption we have about ourselves. In this way, we feel capable to challenge what is commonly accepted as wisdom and then we have the opportunity to change and integrate our values with greater ones. There is an enormous joy when we feel free to play with the possible new scenarios that our imagination and creativity compelled us to try. A successful state of being is alert and grounded within us with the certainty, that the choices we embark on are in resonance with what we consider is the truth of what we are in that precise
In today's society to understand success is to understand a particular individual. No two people's visions of what success means match. This greatly opposes “Death of a Salesman,” where success is seen as simply being wealthy and popular. In “Death of a Salesman” success seems to be a straightforward yes or no. If someone is wealthy and popular they are successful otherwise they are not. However, in the real world success is more individual based. One person’s success might be another person's nightmare. Some people want more intimate friends rather than a bunch of less personal friends or vise versa. Some people want to make a lot of money while others just want to make a difference. Furthermore, not everyone wants a lot of money. In today's society especially, wealth comes with a tremendous amount of additional stresses and pressures. These stresses include the fear of friends only interested in your wealth, or preventing your money from controlling you. These troubles are overlooked in the play. Instead, “Death of a salesman” portrays these two categories as entirely positive and the only necessary parts of being successful. Furthermore, success in today's society does not even necessarily include wealth as a criteria. For example according to the Huffington Post’s list of successful people includes Vincent Van Gogh who was a poor man throughout his entire life. Furthermore, Michelle Wall received the covenant honor, Mother of the year. According to the American Mother association she succeeded in raising her children and was a wonderful role model. Time and time again in our society today it does not require wealth and popularity to be
Everyone can think of at least one person whom they think has reached success in their life. However, the perception of the word “success” is different for everyone. Let’s take Bill Gates as an example. Many people think he is successful in being the creator of Microsoft. Most people associate Bill Gates’ degree of successfulness with his astonishing net worth of 83.6 billion dollars. And few think he is successful in being a businessman that market products or services that solve people's problems. His extensive knowledge, monetary asset value and willingness to advance people with the use of technology are all ways that society defines the degree that somebody has to succeed. However, is this the best way to measure success? The answer is
What is success? Society is always striving for a definition to define it and how others can and have achieved it. This paper will illustrate the definition of success, what makes society success or not success, and what my personal definition of success is. This will show how twisted and materialistic people can really be in today’s world.
Every day people wake up and go to work to make money to provide for themselves and their family. Not only do they try to be sufficient to buy things and provide what is necessary, but they also try to be successful. But what exactly defines something or someone as successful? In my opinion, society’s view of success today is incorrect. Today success is measured by how much money a person makes, the brand of clothes they wear, how expensive and cool the car is that they drive, and how big their house is. The amount of money and the value of possessions should not express how successful or unsuccessful a person is, but rather any accomplishment, big or small.
Arnold Palmer, a golfer deemed to be ‘successful’ by society, once said that “the road to success is always under construction”. In today’s society, success is usually only recognized when a person has reached an acknowledgeable point of achievement. One point of destination. Many people believe that to arrive at this one destination they must set goals to reach it. However, because a person who aims to be successful should constantly be creating new goals and striving to complete those goals, by this definition that success is achieved by reaching goals, no one would be successful. Arnold Palmer describes success in this way, as an idea that is constantly being worked on. Because of the inability to be successful by this definition, success
Student One Jeannine Stanko English 102 23 September 2012 Success What is the real meaning of success? Do we all view success the same? The term success does not necessarily mean climbing the corporate ladder. A person can be successful at any particular thing that he or she strives to do well at in life. One definition of the word success is “the attainment of wealth, position honors, or the like.” Most people have the desire to feel successful in life and strive to be successful at several points in life. Success is reaching that happy place in life, regardless of what it is that takes you there. As a mother, I feel very successful when I see my kids happy. When I see them acting with confidence and when I see them smile, I feel very successful
... therefore making our ideas of success very different. Personally being happy with what you've done is success , making the amount of money to where your comfortable is success , having a family that you are proud of and love is success in its own and being happy with what you surround yourself with is success. Everyone's idea of it embodies who they are and how they view themselves, my only hope on success is that I never stop having that extreme hungry for it. To be successful you have to want it and be dedicated to that single goal without wavering from it , you have to be determined in mind body and soul and you have to really have the passion so that in the end you are happy by it. In my eyes success isn't something you can touch and feel like money, it's on other words intangible, it's something that warms your heart and fuels your fire for personal greatness.
I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all temptations around me. I felt I was entitled, and thanks to money and fame, I did not have to go far to find them – Tiger Woods. My definition of success is someone who is wealthy and has fame. First, my definition of success is someone who is wealthy and fame. Second, a person who is wealthy and has fame is Donald Trump. Being that he is our president, I am sure he has both money and fame. Last, another person who has success is Michael Kors, who has just about any type of clothing and accessories. Therefore, that is my definition of success, one day I will have money and fame as well as Donald and Michael.