Does “having something precious” or “reaching something higher” identify with success? If the success of a tree is to produce fruits and the success of flower is to produce flower, then success is seen in terms of producing “fruits” and “flower” that are useful for others and for oneself. This kind of success is normally perceived but we forget about the long and hard process of growth of a tree or flower: A process to survive from seed stage, germination, growth to reproduction. Each stage is important part of success of being tree or plants. So we can say it also to the success in our life.
Today people always want to be successful in life. Success is a dream from everyone: parents dream to see their children success; children are encouraged to go for educational training for future success. But why success is so powerful word in our world today?
Multi-millions Dollar people, such as Jeff Bezoz, Bill Gates, Bernard Arnault, and others, show that having money and richness is the measurement of success. So having money leading to success or does being rich show one’s success? Does success identify with having power, money, and prestige? What does success mean in today’s world, in our society and in our daily life? Is this kind of success offered by the society true? Is there any true success? Which kind of success is true?
If someone who invest a million US dollar and then get income of another millions, he will be seen as a successful investor; Thomas A. Edison is seen as a successful inventor because of inventing thousands of inventions necessary for humanity. However, a teacher can be seen as successful teacher when he produces quality future leaders; and in a small scale, when he leads students to pass their examination.
Success is a desirable value, which is seen in multiple facets, depending on the subject’s intentions. It might be subjective as no measurement of success. Moreover, it can be perceived mentally and materially: a person can see success in terms of his condition of happiness and one of his status in the society. Others see success as a process when you only notice it at the end of his life time. At bottom line, success is a personal’s state of being fully human, at the given time and situation, and at condition of being accepted as a person in the society and at his relationship with others.
However, many examples of people sacrifice and spend their time, their resources, and their life, which I see them as successful people. Mother Theresa of Calcutta, for example, spent her life on taking care of the poor and the abandoned in city slum of Calcutta. She was seen as a successful religious in term of being faithful to a little gesture of help for the needy. On the other side, a little boy was very proud of his dad because he was faithfully provided daily food for them and be a good father in the house. We may see it as a successful father for that boy.
Therefore, success is almost identified with self-sacrifice and self-giving love, and a commitment to others and it is exercised daily. This kind of success is Christian’s success and offered by Christian’s believe as it is only achieved by commitment, sacrifice, and self-giving love towards the benefit of others.
So always be success in your life by being good and doing good towards yourself and others.