Running head: SUCCESS ON A UNIVERSAL LEVEL

Success on a Universal Level

Kara Irwin

Arizona state university

Abstract

Success has a broad definition, but what exactly defines success? Success is the completion of

one’s goals and aspirations. Since goals and aspirations vary from person to person, it is

impossible to give one strict definition of success such as; success means you have x amount of

money. Being successful is unique to who you are as a person, and what you value the most.

Some things that individuals find them to be successful is family, a career, wealth, or pure

happiness. Each and every person can define success in their own way.

Keywords: success, happiness, wealth, goals, aspirations

Success on a Universal Level

Success. A word that fits many different definitions, but which one is the correct

definition? I believe that although many people have different ways of defining success, it all

goes under one broad definition. The definition of success is the completion of one’s goals and

aspirations. Everyone has different priorities, which ultimately lead into different versions of

success. Not only does success vary from person to person, but it also varies by generation.

Since we were little, it’s always been assumed that if you grow up and make a lot of

money you are successful. Society as a whole has influenced us since elementary school days

that money is equal to success; however, this is not always the case. If someone’s number one

priority isn’t to be wealthy, the story then changes. Money cannot always buy happiness, but

for the ones who prioritize being wealthy as a high factor in their life, it does. Even if on the

outside an individual looks “successful” because of the clothes he is wearing and how classy

they look, it doesn’t necessarily mean that their goals and aspirations have been met.

Amongst different generations, there are different status quos therefore different

priorities, which ultimately lead to multiple definitions of success. If you compare the baby

boomers and millennials, they are very different generations with very different lives and

upbringings. The way one is raised affects their priorities and what they value the most. Take

the baby boomers as an example. These are the individuals born between 1946 and 1964 and

are known as the “working class”. In comparison between millennials to baby boomers, values

and priorities are not consistent. Baby boomers were more prone to focusing on building a

family and getting married in their twenties, however if you look into millennials it is the

opposite. Today, many millennial’s focus on themselves without regard to building a family or
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getting married first. It is more common nowadays to be in college at 21 years-old than married

with children. As these norms and priorities are different, it leads to different definitions of

success. Many baby boomers would agree that once they have a family then they are successful

and have reached their goals. In contrast, most millennials would agree that once they’re

graduated from college with a job they are successful. In no way is one of the generations

correct or incorrect, but just different because they all hold different standards.

Success isn’t just a one-time thing either. Success could be acing an exam, getting the

job you want, or building a family. Success is completely dependent on who you are as a person

and what values you hold closest to your heart. For example, one individual may believe they’re

successful because they own a multimillionaire business and work 7 days a week because that’s

what they strive towards, but then another person may think they are successful with an

average paying job, but with a family surrounding them. Tradeoffs are inevitable when it comes

to success as well. For example, someone working 72 hours owning their own business trades

time that they could spend with their family for working. On the other hand, someone who may

work less and make less money is trading the money for time with family. Depending on the

individual’s values and priorities, declares whether or not the tradeoffs are worth it, and make

you successful.

Does education influence success? It can, if one’s goals and aspirations are pointed

towards getting an education, however, it is not directly correlated. Individuals can still be

successful without having a specific kind of education. Some of the most ionic celebrities and

entrepreneurs didn’t even have the traditional definition. For example, Steve Jobs only

completed one semester of college, but he still created a multimillionaire company; Apple. In
SUCCESS ON A UNIVERSAL LEVEL

this instance, he is successful because he reached his goals and aspirations. Another example is

Henry Ford, who didn’t even complete high school, which for most people these days is

considered a basic education. Despite the fact that school wasn’t his forte, he ended up to have

an incredibly famous Motor Company, Ford. According to the Odyssey, if he were still alive

today, he’d be worth $199 billion. Although this is a significant amount of money, if it weren’t

for his happiness and how he thrived in his business, he wouldn’t feel satisfied with his life, but

since that is what he put first because it’s what he loved doing, it declares him as a successful

individual.

Does wealth influence success? Similar to education and success, wealth isn’t directly

correlated either. If you think about it, Mother Theresa would be considered extremely

successful, but she was in no way near wealthy. In contrast, even the wealthiest man you know

could still be unhappy, therefore unsuccessful if one of his main priorities in life is being happy.

Although someone is wealthy, its normally assumed that he is successful, however it is not the

case every time. Success is a metric; you make what you want out of it.

Not only is wealth or education a way to define success, but health is as well. This is

something that we take for granted every day and don’t realize how lucky we are with a healthy

body until something goes wrong. To some people, health could be all they strive for to define

themselves as successful and content. For instance, if someone was diagnosed with cancer but

finally beat it, they aren’t worried about the money or education, they are successful because

they are healthy and that’s all that matters to them. On the other end of the spectrum,

something less extreme- let’s say a cold. If your son or daughter has a cold, you aren’t feeling as

successful as a parent as you would with a healthy child. Success isn’t always the large
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components of life, but also the small portions make an impact too. Having a healthy body,

mind, and lifestyle is something very important to many people which can define parts of

success.

Since success is completion of goals and aspirations, athletic success can be a form.

Athletes are individuals who strive for one goal- being the best of the best at their sport.

Success isn’t just given, it is earned and with athletes they take their skill to the next level to

achieve greatness which is success in their eyes. Olympians are an example of success, they

may not have the education that some may think is required for true success, but they have

achieved their dreams which is all that matters. Going back to success being able to be achieved

more than once in a lifetime, you can have success multiple times in a sport. A gold medal when

you’re young can still count as success. It is still something you set your mind to and achieved

with hard work and dedication.

All in all, success is what you make it out to be. Everyone has different values and

aspirations so there are millions of different exact definitions of success. Success can be

obtained multiple times in a lifetime, it can be health, wealth, education, or anything else

someone might set their mind to. It is personal to each and every person which makes success

such a difficult word to precisely define, but one broad definition that can act as an umbrella

over every individual one is the completion of goals and aspirations, whatever they might be.
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References

Baer, D. (2014). How 9 incredibly successful people define success. Business Insider. Retrieved

from http://www.businessinsider.com

Easterly, E. (2016). The correlation between success and education. The Odyssey Online.

Retrieved from https://www.theodysseyonline.com

Farrell, G. A. (2014). What is the relationship between success and wealth? Quora. Retrieved

from https://www.quora.com

Success. (n.d.). Merriam-webster. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/success