Success

“There is only one definition of success—to be able to spend your life in your own way.”

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this definition of success? Support your position by using reasons and examples from your reading, your own experience, or your observation of others.

I strongly disagree with this statement. First of all it is a relative world. People see things in different ways and hence one mold cannot fit all. To claim anything to the only way reeks of a nauseating arrogance, fanaticism and self-righteousness. To any such idea I can just say one thing: thanks but no thanks.

The writer reckons that success is being able to spend your life in your way. The ability to spend life in one's own way has economic, political and cultural consequences.

On the economic front a person may want to be able to afford all possible luxuries. Associating success with monetary gains promotes greed and de-humanization of poor. It promotes an egoistic "dog-eat-dog" world concept and wasteful consumerism. It condemns the people with this belief into a perpetual race of material acquisitions with a constant restless feeling of ambition and getting more. Please understand that I am not advocating a socialist setup which is the same thing turned upside down. I am all in for a better life minus the greed. I also believe that a person cannot judge his success on basis of money only.

Politically and culturally this definition of success may translate into forcing the person's point of view on a large majority many of whom may not agree with it. To drive home the point: if Hitler would have been able to spend his life his way, one can just imagine how the world would have looked like. People often have conflicting views and that is why there is a Government that may enforce a particular political system. Without that there would be anarchy with a lot of groups trying to be "successful" in imposing there will. After all success is the ability to spend your life in your own way. Or is it?

Definition of success varies from people to people. It is not always a selfish "me-first" definition that insists on doing everything it's way. Success, at the end of the day, is a meaning that people try to impart to their existence. For some it is family, for some welfare of society and for some even staying alive! When asked what is success, Buddha said that success is a smile that nobody can take from you. With that I leave you to wonder what success really is for you.