Various philosophers and scholars have defined the term “success” in their own ways. Setting and achieving one’s goals; reaching a goal; completing a task, or succeeding in what one sets out to do are all definitions of “success.” The popular Thomas Edison said: “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” Of all the different definitions I encountered during this research, this one touched me in several tender places. I’d like to rest my thoughts on this premise.
“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”
Thomas Edison
The thought on what is ‘success’
I’ll begin by posing these thought-provoking questions: Will one consider himself successful if he thrives on a job solely for the paycheck? Is it true that someone who strives to achieve goals simply to be labelled successful is genuinely successful?
Many people live unsatisfied lives because they have chosen to pitch their tents in skills, jobs, and fields that they have little or no aptitude for in order to have roofs over their heads, clothes on their backs, and food in their bellies.
The story
Allow me to walk you through the life of a character I’ll call Lizzy. Follow me, yes, let us be omniscient observers of Lizzy’s life and work. She was a tall, dark-skinned lady in her late twenties who was ambitious, smart, and passionate. Lizzy had her fair share of problems in life. She worked several jobs to make ends meet in her unwavering determination to succeed, but the truth is that she mostly did these jobs to earn a living. She recalled working a 24-hour shift, playing host to various guests, taking their orders, and ensuring that they were completely satisfied with the premium comfort and hospitality they had paid for.
Lizzy discovered that her sanity was slipping through her fingers during all of these toxic-turvy rides to obtain life’s necessities. She was having trouble sleeping. Could it be a lack of sufficient rest? Certainly not! There was more to the story than that. On one of the days, she felt as if the entire bumpy ride was going off the rails. She wasn’t hungry; she was dressed to the nines, and she had the latest gadgets. Yet she was sick on the inside. Something was suffering and dying. The fire was cold as if it hadn’t been lit in as long as anyone could remember. A fire was running cold as if the hearth had not been lit for as long as one could remember.
The realisation
She sat downcast and thought, “I have the money I have always wanted.” I don’t go begging for bread, I don’t dress like a pauper any longer, so why am I unhappy? ” Then she realised she wasn’t living her dreams.
She didn’t like herself because she didn’t like her job, and she wasn’t happy with how she went about it, as Edison correctly stated. Lizzy resolved then and there to conduct a soul search to discover what gave her the inner fulfilment she had been missing all along.
I guess she found it.
The conclusion
To be truly successful, one must identify their passions; those things that make you smile in your sleep, those deep-seated goals that only you understand, those sparks that light your fire, that smoke that makes you blaze and blossom even in the darkest of circumstances.
Finally, unless you find what makes you fulfilled, until you identify those things that make you unique, that passion that drives you to work even when you don’t feel like it, until you find it, harness it, and let it thrive, you will only exist but not truly live.
Nice content, I love this part(until you identify those things that make you unique, that passion that drives you to work even when you don’t feel like it, until you find it, harness it, and let it thrive, you will only exist but not truly live)