ABOUT SUCCESS
Friday, January 19, 2007
SUCCESS
why do some men and women achieve outstanding success while others fail? why are some people rich while most others are poor? why do some live in comfortable houses and others live in slums and one room apartments? and why are some people respected while others are not respected and honoured?
Napoleon Hill, a well-known writer, philosopher and motivator of the 20th century, researched for 20 long years to get answers to the above questions and his findings are documented in his books Laws of Success and think and Grow Rich. Since then scores books have been penned, dealing directly or indirectly with the priniples of success. However, a lot of literature was also availble earlier to the publication of the recent books.
what is success?
The most common denominator of success is money. Almost everyone speaks that success means more money, more wealth, more riches. In fact, money does not determine success but if you are successful money chases you. Take the example of any successful industrialist, film actor, musicians or sports person. Today Ambanis, Amitabh Bachchan, Lata Mangeshkar, Sachin Tendulkar are successful and, therefore, they are rich. Money is really a by-product of success and not the other way around.
The most widely accepted and popular definition of success is what Erl Nightingale suggests "Success is the progressive realisation of a worthy goal". In this definition "progressive realisation" and "worthy goal" are the two important pillars of success. Progressive realisation presumes that anything achieved abruptly is not success. Indirectly, we can say that success is hidden behind long hard work. Perhaps, the author precludes from the definition of success anything achieved without paying a proper price.
The other salient feature of the definition is that the goal should be worthy. Even if a goal is worthy but the achievement of the goal takes place through dishonest and corrupt practices, can it be termed as success? Will you term a student successful, who qualifies an examination with distinction but gets it through cheating or copying? will you consider a man successful who a masses huge wealth and property but acquires them by exploitation of labourers or by avoiding payment of taxes? will you consider an athlete successful who wins a gold medal but does it after taking drugs?
In all these three cases the goals have been worthy. A distinction in the examination, acquiring wealth or gold medel. But, to my mind, it could not be termed as success. They are acquiring their glories by resorting to corrupt and dishonest means. Such success is to be rebuked. Such success is to be condemned. Such success is to be disapproved. Under no circumstances are these achievements to be magnified but should be downright excluded from the purview of success.
Every civilized society evolves certains norms of conduct and all our preformance must pass through the acid test of such norms. The realization of wealth and property or a gold medal or a distinction may be a worthy goal but it must be earned within the ambit of rules of conduct prescribed by the society.
