What is “success”? How is it measured?
If I were to think about the messages about success in our society I think of the following things:
– Size and age of your house
– What kind of car you drive
– How often you take vacations to sunny destinations
– Holding a high-ranking position in a company
– The kind of clothes you wear
– Your annual income
Are these true measures of success? SHOULD these be the measures of success? What is really important in this life?
I think about things such as:
– Investing in people
– Loving others (the great and the small)
– Doing the things you love
I went to a concert at The Bassment this past weekend. A couple of people I grew up with are in the band and this was the first time I had heard them play. I had a great time. From what I could see it looks like these people genuinely love doing what they do and playing with each other. This made the experience all the more enjoyable. The band is local and even though they were nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award they’re not on the tour circuit; they mostly play in Saskatoon.
I think of another person I grew up with. He had always wanted to play in a famous rock band. He has spent years trying to become well known in the recording industry. I recently found him on facebook. Although he is on the road to attaining his dream – he has played at the international level and is schmoozing with the rich & famous – I wonder “at what cost”? I get the impression that he is devoting all his energy to being with the “right” people, the people that will further his goal, whether these people have any morals or not. I wonder how much of who he is he has had to sacrifice in order to attain “success”?
Although my facebook friend would be considered more “successful” by society’s standards, I think the people in the other band have maintained more of their personal integrity and I find greater value in that.