A Definition of Success - Essay Example

A Definition of Success Success for me is being able to do the things you love, tohave a job or vocation that you really dreamt of having, or to be able to pursue your passion and turn it into something productive for yourself, not only financially, but also mentally and emotionally. Success happens, I believe, in doing what you love, following your happiness, and listening to your instinct. Obviously, when you become trapped in a job you do not want or never even dreamt of having or when you are following a path that takes you off course, words like passion, success, and so on can be somewhat frustrating. Majority of us have this belief that we do not truly possess control over things, over the events that occur in our lives, over our emotions, our thoughts, and that we are preys, and obviously, as preys, all we are conscious of doing or our initial instinct is protect ourselves. Since we use up all our time defending or sheltering ourselves, we are unable to picture our own identity, we forget that we have free will and we can decide for ourselves, and that we do have the power to change the direction of our lives. Realizing all of these and acting promptly based on these realizations is what I call success. I know for a fact that we are all unique in our own ways. Nobody can take your identity, your uniqueness. We have something that other people do not have. We all have our own innate talents and skills, and if we commit ourselves to these unique abilities and strive to enhance them by finding a vocation or job that we really love, success will be within reach, and we will attain happiness, contentment, and strong personal and professional relationships. This is not a belief that I have created on my own; it is a principle that all successful people who is enjoying what they do and pursuing their passion will offer you. Success does not come to those who are trapped in a job that they dislike, those merely doing what they do because they are compelled to. If you desire success, do something that you love, pursue your passion, and, eventually, you will learn new things about yourself. All of these things, good or bad, will help you towards success. These principles and values I have mentioned here are not mere hearsays. They have been proven by a number of successful people, such as Walt Disney, Michael Jordan, and Stephen Spielberg. These famous icons in their own industries have proven to the world how far passion can take you (Armstrong 10-12). They have failed so many times, persistently rejected, but they did not give up because they know that they are following the right path for them, the path that will take them to happiness or a complete fulfillment of their dreams, vision, and passion. Love for what they do fueled and motivated them to go on despite cruel, merciless failures. Success comes to those who dream and pursue it relentlessly. A Step-by-Step Process to Become Successful Success does not happen in a blink of an eye or out of the blue. It is a struggle, an unending challenge. One of the most important ways in the process of achieving success is establishing smaller and lifetime goals. However, we must first begin formulating lifetime goals or what we desire to attain in our lifetime. Establishing these lifetime goals will provide us with the general outlook that influences all other parts of our decision making process. As you carry this out, be certain that the goals you are establishing are those that you truly desire to attain, not goals that significant others in your life like parents and other family members want for you. For my lifetime goals, I will consider eight things, namely, (1) career, (2) financial, (3) education, (4) family, (5) artistic, (6) attitude, (7) physical, and (8) pleasure (Stone 29). For my career, I would like to pursue writing novels. It has been my childhood dream to become an accomplished novelist. I totally love writing stories. In terms of financial goals, I would like to earn substantially so that I would be able to provide for my family and enjoy leisure time with them. With regard to education, I will enroll in writing classes and literature courses to help me enhance my writing skills. In terms of family goals, I would like to be a parent someday and build my own family. In relation to artistic goals, as I have stated earlier, I would want to be a successful author of fictional stories. With regard to attitude, I’ll try my best to get rid of my negative attitudes such as being too anxious at times and negatively thinking ahead of time. In terms of physical goals, I will regularly work out and follow a balanced diet in order to be healthy for a long time. And, lastly, in relation to pleasure, my goal is to enjoy my free time with my family. Since I have established my lifetime goals, I will then formulate smaller goals. I will formulate my one-week, one-month, six-month, one-year, and five-year goal in order to become an accomplished novelist (Morgan 68): (1) Five-year goal: Become a successful novelist (2) One-year goal: Enroll in writing classes and talk with successful authors. (3) Six-month goal: Take literature courses and study the technicalities of novel writing. (4) One-month goal: Get acquainted with novice and experienced authors and learn from them. (5) One-week goal: Read books and other written materials about the techniques and requirements of writing. A very important part of these smaller goals is my commitment to routine learning or scheduled schoolwork and readings. I have already researched a large number of written materials about the dos and don’ts of writing a novel and have also learned from successful novelists, like Stephen King and Anne Rice. I have discovered that extensive reading is the key to becoming a successful novelist, and, of course, passion for writing. As I have read, accomplished authors experienced many difficulties in getting to where they are now. They told me that it takes a lot of courage and motivation hence I should follow my lifetime and smaller goals faithfully. What Success Looks Like I envision myself a successful book author: my name on a hardbound and paperback book, and the honor and freedom of having my works of imagination accessible and promoted to audiences far and wide. However, I am aware that being a successful novelist is not all candies and chocolates. Being a professional book author is an endless struggle. There is no room for impractical, unrealistic hopes. But, of course, as I have said, the perks of reaching a wide array of readers and introducing them to your creative work are the most fulfilling experience or reward of being a successful novelist. Being a successful novelist does not mean a full-time job at writing. As I have read from the blogs of some accomplished authors, they have other jobs besides writing because the sales of their books cannot answer for all their needs and luxuries, except for really successful authors like J.K. Rowling and Stephen King. I expect to have other jobs besides writing. It is true that a number of authors are able to become full-time writers and earn a substantial amount of money, but most has other jobs or sources of income. Even several bestselling novelists could not leave their other jobs outright. I will begin to pursue my dream of writing because I have a zealous passion for my creativity and literature or a fanatical desire to let my stories be heard, even though this will require having other jobs to provide for my daily needs. Famous authors, like Tom Clancy and John Grisham, before becoming bestselling novelists were dividing their time between writing and their day jobs. Tom Clancy was an insurance agent while creating his military-oriented and spy novels (Schneider & Doyen 104). Likewise, John Grisham was a lawyer who finds time to write his seminal legal novel, A Time to Kill, at dawn before he had to assume his lawyering stuff. When the novel only made modest sales, he wrote another one, The Firm. P.D. James, a well-known mystery author, created several fictions while providing for her two children and nursing her ill husband by keeping a government job (Schneider & Doyen 106-8). After a number of years and a number of novels, popular science fiction author David Edelman talked about being a ‘juggler’ between his web development job and writing (Stone 93). If I will be a successful author, I will be expecting to experience all of those that accomplished novelists have experienced. Writing is absolutely not a walk in the park. But the thought of millions of readers devouring my creative works or the products of my imagination will be the fuel that will keep the fire burning within me. I want to be a novelist, a successful one. Works Cited Armstrong, Tracey. Becoming a Pioneer of Success: God’s Plan to Help You Win in Life and in Business. New York: Destiny Image Publishers, 2005. Print. Morgan, Loana. Empowered for Success: Create the Masterpiece of Your Life Using Timeless Wisdom and Powerful Principles and Techniques. New York: AuthorHouse, 2011. Print. Schneider, Meg & Barbara Doyen. The Everything Get Published Book: All You Need to Know to Become a Successful Author. New York: Everything Books, 2006. Print. Stone, Kelly. Living Write: The Secret to Inviting Your Craft Into Your Daily Life. New York: Adams Media, 2010. Print. Read More