Heres what I learned about success after interviewing people from various professions: I used to believe that success consists merely of wealth and social status. In a way, it is normal to define success as wealth and social status because society has a propensity toward making comparisons, and if success is defined that way, comparison of success is possible. It has always been the convention that a billionaire is more successful than millionaire, and that those belonging to the cohort of the elite are more successful than the average citizens who are further away from the center of power. Conceivably career success seems to consist merely of high monetary reward, and power because of the way those achievements are celebrated in the media. Review any of the business magazines and TV Channels such as Times, Forbes or Bloomberg, readily available are rosters of successful people ranked by their net worth and influence, similar to how schools rank their students according to their achievements. It seems that this culture of comparison lingered or is even amplified outside of academia. Now let us put this assumed definition of success to test by asking this question. Is Bill Gates always more successful than the farmer who planted his potatoes? In the context of economics, yes, because Bill Gates is irreplaceable while his farmer can easily be replaced by thousands of others. By our assumed definition of success? More so! Bill Gates is absolutely wealthier and more powerful than Mr. Farmer. But in the context of morality, is he? Shouldnt Gates business partners, teachers, family, books that inspired him, personal driver, chef who cooked for him, and all of those who have contributed to Gates well-being including the farmer who planted his potatoes, be credited for his success? Economists will oppose, with the reason being that Gates teachers, personal driver and chef have been paid and rewarded to perform their function. They are merely trading a service for monetary rewards. But in the context of morality, I think the answer is a yes, because each of them contributed to his well being, and indirectly his success in small or great magnitudes. By no means am I trying to undermine the respect society has for those who are wealthy and powerful, but it is important to point out that the definition of success which our society operates around fails to stand as firmly as it was expected in moral grounds. Turn out morally, Gates is just as important as Mr. Farmer. We often weigh two individuals, and conclude that the less easily replaceable one (Gates) is more important than the easily replaceable one (farmer). But if we weigh not individuals, but the value of existence of a farmer versus that of a businessperson, we would realize that morally, they are equally important. The second test I would like to put the conventional definition of success through is by comparing the success of a drug lord against the success of a high school teacher. Evaluating this question does not require the wisdom of Socrates, as a 3 year-old could easily point out that even thought the drug lord is wealthier and respected (among other drug traders), what he does is morally wrong. So if the conventional definition of success is not comprehensive of morality, what should be success after all? During an interview for a scholarship which I did not end up being awarded, the interviewer was trying to convince me that success is achieved when others think you are successful. The interviewer was a respectable businessperson in civil engineering, and I was for one second disappointed about his definition. Putting emotions aside, I politely pointed out that if success is defined by what others think of us, we would be living our whole lives in terms of others, under a framework set forth by others. And if such is the case, there would be no Elon Musk, nor Steve Jobs, as innovation involves breaking the status quo, and failure at the outset. I think success is achieved when we pursue what we think is important. Elon Musk, founder of Tesla motors, SpaceX and Paypal, once said: If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it. I did not come from a privileged background, and I can imagine how infinitely more pleasurable life would be if I had more money. But to make life meaningful, and worthwhile? Unless you are in poverty, or tremendous financial distress, money should be out of the picture. It should be heartbreaking for society to see talented, educators, designers, lawyers, engineers, writers, or entrepreneurs give up on doing what they think is important for a job that pays well at the outset, such as investment banking. I think from now on money should play a less important role in the way we think about success. Money should be a mean of well-being, not the end. Consider all the things that make life worthwhile, family, friendships, health, pursuit of a dream, growth, the experience of learning, the experience of offering a helping hand, the experience of raising children, playing sports, and many others, perhaps financial success becomes rather trivial. I would be proud to admit that it is one of my goal to achieve financial success, but I hope to achieve it by doing what I love. Even though you may not have discovered what you are truly passionate about, and so havent I, I challenge you start exploring. The rules of economics and the principles of morality seldom align. Value in economics is determined by supply and demand, and value in morality is defined by the contribution one makes to one anothers well-being. But we must be able to find that common ground between the two. Perhaps the distorted world of this generation could be put back to order if we recognize the insatiable greed in human nature and the illusion of social status, and never allow them to dictate our good-natured characters. We must also understand that success can not be quantified and that the value of existence of any individual should be defined by his character, not the bottom line of his bank statement. Being able to pursue a career you think is important, and contributing your verse of morality to society is what I think success is.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 06:19:22 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015