Success presents an amorphous concept to many people. It is often difficult to describe with most people choosing to measure success by tangible features such as the number of cars or the amount of money one has. Others may view success as raising many children or achieving an inner sense of peace. Given the fact that there is no universal definition of success it is important to form a personal view of it lest one wastes time chasing another man’s version of success. In his book, “The Tipping Point”, Malcom Gladwell attempts to describe how successful people such as Bill Gates live. However, rather than focus on the lives of the successful people themselves, he takes a look at their ancestry. An attempt is made to determine how a person’s history or pedigree so to speak can affect how their lives turn out. He regards people who, by virtue of their acts or achievements, stand out from all the rest as outliers. Outliers are people define who they are and end up excelling beyond ordinary standards. His idea of success, although incomprehensive, presents a fresh perspective on the concept.
Contrary to a lot of existing literature, he believes that an individual’s success is not only a result of his or her personal traits; rather, it is the product of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Family and community settings contribute immensely to a person’s success. For example, if we take a look at some of the most successful people in America, we would most likely notice that they come from the same university or grew up in similar social settings. A culture premised on success ultimately encourages success. When students join Yale, for example, the environment oozes success thus one ends up succeeding not necessarily because they were of superior intelligence but because success surrounded them daily. A more unorthodox example would be the suggestions that people born in a particular year are more likely to be more successful than others. This does not mean that personal traits do not matter; it just takes an enabling environment to bring out a person’s successful streak. Also, success does not accrue as a right by virtue of pedigree; one has to take steps towards success.
In the introduction to his book, “The Alchemist”, Paulo Coelho recognizes that the fear of being wrongfully perceived by society is an often an obstacle to success. We often fear what our families would think of us if we decided to be community workers instead doctors. In his book, Coelho talks of a boy who chose to become a shepherd instead of a priest as his humble parents had hoped he would be. The young boy was surprised when his father gave him his blessings and allowed him to become a shepherd. His parents’ idea of a successful profession did not match his but they were still willing to support him in achieving his dream. An overriding theme in his book is that success is not all about the endgame as much as it is about the journey undertaken to get there. Along the path to success we learn invaluable skills and pick up little treasures.
In my opinion success by its unique nature is a personal journey for everyone. I believe that true success is not necessarily the attainment of particular goals but rather the ability to envisage what others cannot. At the risk of sounding like a “dreamer”, I tend to think that people who come up with new ideas and attempt to implement them are more successful than those who replicate existing concepts and make billions out of them. Success is the ability to be innovative and extraordinary. Once a person attains such a level of thinking then they rightly ought to be regarded as successful. Hence, it is all in the mind. Regarding success as some kind of mental orientation could raise questions in ascertaining who is successful and who is not. This is the easiest part; a successful person is one who attempts to turn his or her dreams into reality. Anyone short of that would just be a person with a lot of dreams. Success becomes the key to happiness only when it forms part of our deepest desires.
Looking at the perspectives adopted by Coelho and Gladwell, as well as my own opinion, it is sufficient to say that the ability to succeed lies deep within us. We just need to figure out what we believe could be our greatest achievement and work on it. The journey to success may not be easy; some may get there earlier because of living an enabling environment while for others it may take a little longer. The exact definition of success may be elusive but deep down everyone gets a special feeling when they attain it. We just need to remember that success is all about group effort. To put it more aptly, “It takes a village to raise a child”. As a community we have more of an influence on who among us succeeds than we would ordinarily imagine.
Works Cited
Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist. New York: HarperCollins, 2008.
Gladwell, Malcom. Outliers. United States of America: Little, Brown and Company, 2008.
