What's Going On: An answer only you can provide
As we are in the midst of graduation season, thousands of high school and college seniors will endure one more lecture in the form of commencement addresses.
There will be lots of advice offered in these sleep (or at least daydream) inducing speeches, much of which will focus on what it takes to be successful in life, which begs an obvious question: How do you define a successful person?
Being a “success” is something I would imagine everyone wants to be, but if we can’t define what that entails, how can we obtain it?
In our materialistic society, one far-too-easy way to define success is based on the amount of stuff and/or money we accumulate.
Theoretically speaking, capitalism rewards the most successful through increased wealth, especially in the workforce. Generally speaking, the most skilled teacher, writer, musician, athlete, lawyer, stock broker or accountant is usually better compensated than their lesser skilled colleagues.
In theory though, I think we would all agree that while wealth can be one aspect of defining success, it surely isn’t the only one.
I recently read an article quoting various “successful” people on how they defined success.
Winston Churchill defined success as “going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm,” while acclaimed author and poet Maya Angelou said “success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”
Famed college basketball coach John Wooden, who won more national titles than any other embraced a general overview when he said “success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming,”
Enthusiasm. Liking yourself. Self-satisfaction. They all sound like key components to a successful individual.
Truly though, defining the traits of a successful person, other than yourself, is actually impossible.
For example, a teenager born and raised by a single parent in a home/neighborhood with rampant drug use and violence would probably be considered a success if he or she graduated from high school and college and got a job. Heck, staying off drugs and not becoming a crime statistic may be all it takes.
On the other hand, the expectations for the new “Royal Baby,” Princess Charlotte, will be vastly different. For her to be a “success,” she’ll need to aspire to be Queen, or at the very least, avoid becoming a tabloid scandal.
As Red Oak’s commencement speaker Kathy Walker noted, her definitions of success evolved as she became more mature.
I know that holds true for me as well, as my main goals in life now involve impacting the world in a positive way through not only my work, but my family and relationships.
As such, popular self-help author Stephen Covey may have best defined success when he told the New York Times “If you carefully consider what you want to be said of you in the funeral experience, you will find your definition of success.”
That’s sound advice not only for graduates but for all of us. If you want to know what success in your life looks like, you have to look within and answer that question yourself.
No teacher, peer, parent, or even commencement speaker can answer that question. Only you can.
Gregory Orear is the General Manager/Editor of the Red Oak Express and Glenwood Opinion-Tribune. He can be contacted at publisher@redoakexpress.com.