How do you define 'success'?

[CBC News]

You can't succeed without talent. But best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell argues there's more to it than that.

You can have all the talent in the world, but without a little bit of luck, you might not get very far. In his latest book, Outliers, Gladwell spends some time looking at the circumstances of some of the world's most talented people, including Bill Gates, Tiger Woods and The Beatles.

He argues that without extraordinary circumstances, it's possible that none of them would have enjoyed the success they have achieves. For instance Bill Gates had access to a sophisticated computer from an early age, when few universities had them. The Beatles didn't get really good until they played strip clubs in Hamburg, where they played eight-hour shifts, forcing them to get creative with their music.

How do you define success? Have "extraordinary circumstances" helped you on the road to success?



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[Scott Free]

How do you define success? Have "extraordinary circumstances" helped you on the road to success?

Then how many people have been held back by "poor circumstance?"

This is a terrible question because we still blame people for their circumstance much like the ancients would blame people for bad luck, however to admit "extraordinary circumstances" can help someone is to also admit that "poor circumstance" can hold them back.

The popular notion that anyone can accomplish anything then is in great peril if "extraordinary circumstances" can be seen as the reason for success, and furthermore, that would mean there really are victims of "poor circumstances."

The only way to escape responsibility then which "extraordinary circumstances" could necessarily create (provided one isn't a sociopath) to those less fortunate victims of "poor circumstances" is to claim that success was only earned through talent and hard work. Claiming benefit from "extraordinary circumstances" does seem to suggest culpability to some degree.

Interestingly though it would seem an intuitive conclusion that someone of "extraordinary circumstances" is probably more likely to succeed than someone of "poor circumstances," yet oddly enough, we never claim such things in our society. It is almost taboo to even say such a thing unless you're completely pathetic: "I am poor because I came from a bad beginning (poor circumstances)." What a terrible thing to say! You blame others for your problems! Well pull yourself up by your boot strap boy, get a haircut and get a job!

Yet even stranger is that the way out of "poor circumstances" is to deny that circumstance has anything to do with ones condition - despite that it must! The only way this could be is if our blaming people for "poor circumstances" is part of the "poor circumstances." How ironic then?

Welcome to our toxic culture.

 

[china]

How do you define success?

You are happy with whatever it is that you are doing ,to help yourself and others .

Have "extraordinary circumstances" helped you on the road to success? [/QUO

T
Yes , love of people positive attitude and self motivation create " extraordinary circumstances . What I mean is that a good sales agent does not wait for opportunities ...............he crates them .

 

[scratch]

china,
I hope I find you and yours happy and healthy.

You are a paradox to me and that is not meant in a derogatory way.

I believe in your thread. Just unlike you some how.

Just an observation.

sincere regards,
scratch

 

[JLM]

Different things to different people - for me achieving happiness for myself and those associated with me, without harming anyone. To be in a position to periodically give a helping hand to those less fortunate. To have enough to eat, wear, shelter, but not requiring approval from anyone.

 

[scratch]

JLM,

In my sincere opinion -- a good mantra.

regards,
scratch

 

[china]

china,
I hope I find you and yours happy and healthy.

You are a paradox to me and that is not meant in a derogatory way.

I believe in your thread. Just unlike you some how.

Just an observation.

sincere regards,
scratch

Thank you for your response to my post .
I,m glad you liked it .That's my 30+ years of selling experience talking .
Thanks again , China .

 

[JLM]

You can't succeed without talent. But best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell argues there's more to it than that.

You can have all the talent in the world, but without a little bit of luck, you might not get very far. In his latest book, Outliers, Gladwell spends some time looking at the circumstances of some of the world's most talented people, including Bill Gates, Tiger Woods and The Beatles.

He argues that without extraordinary circumstances, it's possible that none of them would have enjoyed the success they have achieves. For instance Bill Gates had access to a sophisticated computer from an early age, when few universities had them. The Beatles didn't get really good until they played strip clubs in Hamburg, where they played eight-hour shifts, forcing them to get creative with their music.

How do you define success? Have "extraordinary circumstances" helped you on the road to success?



More...

I think you can only have a true perception of success in yourself and it's in the mind. Think of the countless people in the limelight, (who we would give our eye teeth to trade places with) that typically end up dead of alcoholism, suicide, drug over dose at age 52. Sadness and hopelessness seem to do well masquerading as success sometimes. Billy Holiday is a prime example- all the talent in the world- dead at 44.

 

[hermanntrude]

Thank you for your response to my post .
I,m glad you liked it .That's my 30+ years of selling experience talking .
Thanks again , China .

it took 30+ years of experience to get you to learn that? I heard that without ever selling anything. it's on the TV like twice a day

 

[china]

hrmanntrude ,

it took 30+ years of experience to get you to learn that?

Yes sir,and you know what ? ......at age 58 I,m still selling and marketing my products locally and internationally and most important I,m still learning ;and that's in different country and different language , different culture .I hope to be learning for te next 30+ years .

I heard that without ever selling anything. it's on the TV like twice a day

Obviously , disabled folks have to revert to an artificial form of learning and entertainment .Wonder why they call TV an Idiot Box ?

 

[SirJosephPorter]

Different things to different people - for me achieving happiness for myself and those associated with me, without harming anyone. To be in a position to periodically give a helping hand to those less fortunate. To have enough to eat, wear, shelter, but not requiring approval from anyone.

I agree with you, JLM, I also define succession terms of happiness. Thus you may fail in an endeavor, but you may have excellent time on the way, you may enjoy yourself just striving for it. In that case, I would call it a success even if final objective is not achieved.

On the other hand, you may achieve your dream, your objective, only to find out that it doesn’t give you the rewards, the satisfaction you expected. If achieving your objective makes you unhappy, then you have failed, even though you achieved your objective.

Let me give an example. Suppose a man has his objective as becoming the CEO of a company. Through hard work, by working 80 hours a week, by stepping on many toes, by betraying his friends, he achieves his objective, he becomes a CEO.

But since he neglected his wife along the way, she leaves him; all his friends desert him (because he betrayed them). As a result he is miserable. Then I would consider him a failure, even though he achieved his objective.

Indeed, that is what I told my son when he was discussing with me his career options. I told him to choose a career that makes him happy. I told him that I would much rather he becomes a happy school teacher than an unhappy doctor. He chose to go to Medical School; I hope and trust that he made the right choice.

 

[bobnoorduyn]

"If at first you don't succeed, redefine success". Dr. Laurence J. Peter:idea:

 

[hermanntrude]

hrmanntrude ,


Yes sir,and you know what ? ......at age 58 I,m still selling and marketing my products locally and internationally and most important I,m still learning ;and that's in different country and different language , different culture .I hope to be learning for te next 30+ years .
Obviously , disabled folks have to revert to an artificial form of learning and entertainment .Wonder why they call TV an Idiot Box ?

so you're 58, and it took you 30 years to learn that to sell things it's good to create opportunities. what were you doing during the previous 28 years? learning to walk?

my phrase "it's on the TV like twice a day" was a general statement of the fact that your little snippet of wisdom about creating opportunities is such an enormous cliche that a 4 year old has probably heard it more times than you've contradicted yourself. In actual fact i don't own a TV. probably because i find most of the programming annoying and overpriced and i find the commercials more annoying than you.

 

[JLM]

I agree with you, JLM, I also define succession terms of happiness. Thus you may fail in an endeavor, but you may have excellent time on the way, you may enjoy yourself just striving for it. In that case, I would call it a success even if final objective is not achieved.

On the other hand, you may achieve your dream, your objective, only to find out that it doesn’t give you the rewards, the satisfaction you expected. If achieving your objective makes you unhappy, then you have failed, even though you achieved your objective.

Let me give an example. Suppose a man has his objective as becoming the CEO of a company. Through hard work, by working 80 hours a week, by stepping on many toes, by betraying his friends, he achieves his objective, he becomes a CEO.

But since he neglected his wife along the way, she leaves him; all his friends desert him (because he betrayed them). As a result he is miserable. Then I would consider him a failure, even though he achieved his objective.

Indeed, that is what I told my son when he was discussing with me his career options. I told him to choose a career that makes him happy. I told him that I would much rather he becomes a happy school teacher than an unhappy doctor. He chose to go to Medical School; I hope and trust that he made the right choice.

My feelings, exactly.

 

[darkbeaver]

"If at first you don't succeed, redefine success". Dr. Laurence J. Peter:idea:

Hey Hellow, is that Peter of the Peter principal?

 

[Said1]

Hey Hellow, is that Peter of the Peter principal?

Oui.

 

[darkbeaver]

Success means never having to say your bored and crushing your enemys and driving their women and children before you out on to the stepps in the winter on the way to the walls of Rome where you are crowned Pope John Paul Beaver xxII.5 and then getting blind stinking drunk and burning the city. Ha it's not like that these days.

 

[china]

Success means never having to say your bored and crushing your enemys and driving their women and children before you out on to the stepps in the winter on the way to the walls of Rome where you are crowned Pope John Paul Beaver xxII.5 and then getting blind stinking drunk and burning the city. Ha it's not like that these days

HAAHAHAHA.................
You are right darkbeaver; them days is gone .

 

[china]

In actual fact i don't own a TV. probably because i find most of the programming annoying and overpriced and i find the commercials more annoying than you.

[
The tv annoys you so you don't own one ; what a smart move .

I , China annoy you , so , don't read my posts, it will also be a smart move .Better yet hermanntrude .....go and find yourself a friend .

I'm going to ignore your comments from now on.

 

[scratch]

In my opinion success is what you have done with your life to this point.
If you are content in your shoes and content with your overall situation, that (in my mind) is success.

regs
scratch