Measuring Success

Have you ever wondered why Newton and Einstein never created a success measuring scale? It may be because success is an instinct; a feeling you get from within your heart that you are contented with what you have. Of course, the desire to have more arises in everyone’s heart but still having the feeling that life can’t get any better is called success.

We are all aware that most people judge the successfulness of a person on academic grounds. For them the main ingredient for a successful person is a remarkable result sheet and an impressive resume. Such people are ignorant of the most successful person on the planet – Bill Gates. He was a junior school drop-out and even then he reached that level of success which most university top graders have been unable to achieve. It would be wrong if Richard Branson wouldn’t be mentioned here as he too didn’t complete his education but he is still the owner of many companies running under the name of Virgin.

By all this, I don’t mean that people who earn lots of money tend to get more successful even if they haven’t studied much. Success doesn’t come from top grades or money. The desire and then the effort to become successful lead a person to great heights.

Another misconception is that “popularity is success”. If you have a Wikipedia page, if the whole world hears of your name, you are legally regarded as successful! Then should we regard Michael Jackson as the most successful person? His music was definitely a great hit but his failure to deal with his personal problems left him a little behind on the success list.

For every person, success is different; it may be popularity, money or intelligence for one and simply the desire for another. There isn’t any magnitude for measuring success. I consider a person successful if he is contended with what he has and owns an ideal life; keeping a balance between their professional and personal life.

Success cannot be measured; rather it is felt by the person who acquires it.