Success and Money: Don't Put the Cart Before the Horse
The general consensus is that success is measured by the amount of money you've made. While this may make sense if taken at face value, according to renowned motivational speaker Earl Nightingale, nothing could be further from the truth.
Nightingale defines success as "the progressive realization of a worthy ideal." In layman's terms, if you are consistently working at a worthwhile goal, you are a success. Sound like anybody you know?
What it comes down to is success is not measured by material gain, but by how willing you are to invest in yourself. You don't have to be "king of the hill" to be a success. It's not about how much stuff you've accumulated, it's really about how you feel about yourself. One guy aspires to be the president of whatever, another guy just wants to own a gas station. One woman wants to be a runway model. Another one just wants to be a teacher.
If money is the motivation for the aspiring president of whatever and the wannabe runway model, Nightingale says that even if they make it, they are failures. And, he says, if the future teacher and gas station owner are consistently striving for their mark, they are a success.
"Wait!" You say. "Aren't the aspiring president and wannabe runway model consistently pursuing their goals?" Well, yes, no, and maybe. The point is: It's not where you're going, it's how you get there. The key word in the examples given is "money." Once you get the money, then what? But once you get that gas station that you dreamed about since you were a kid, or finally get your own classroom with a bunch of little faces beaming up at you, you have arrived!
Here at WA, we all want to make a bunch of money. That's why we signed up! For some of us our new-found wealth will be a means. For others, it will be an end. For those of us who consider money a means, WA is just another tool we will use as we consistently move toward that goal of being who we really want to be. We're not doing this to be successful. We were a success when we got here.
Recent Comments
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Money is the benchmark, into days world, success is something a little bit different, the total of our experiences can be our version of success and that can be what works for us.
To keep on investing in our knowledge base and applying what we learn while sharing that with others can indeed make us successful when we arrive anywhere.
Thank you for your food for thought Cedric.
So true, a great reminder about what my own success looks like. Not really money related at all. Thank you for sharing :)
I feel you Nicky. My mission is to develop and administer substance abuse programs designed specifically for seniors. I will pursue any legal means available to me to achieve this objective.
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Money may make the world go round and
many of us are trying to find a way to get
there. We just have to agree with ourselves,
so we can do it serenly.
Ingrid