The word Success is misleading!
Just because you landed your dream job, doesn’t make you successful!
Just because you made ton of money, doesn’t make your successful!
Just because you won an award or got recognition/fame, doesn’t make you successful!
Then what makes one successful?
Success is not a milestone. It’s work-in-progress. As long as you live you can’t be successful or at least you shouldn’t consider yourself one no matter what others has to say.
For if you become contented with success, you will become a failure as your growth plummets.
Remember your favorite actors, singers, athletes, writers, idols growing up. Where are they now? What happened to them once they reached “Success”. They stopped being successful!
One great example is Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. He reached success in his mid 40’s but then what happened? He failed miserably in his 50s. His movies flopped. His political career failed. But he never stopped trying. He came back again is his 60s. Succeeded again and then?
You see the pattern here right? As long as you keep trying, you can’t fail. It’s when you stop trying either because you gave up or you became contented with your progress, then only you FAIL.
Nothing is permanent. Not even your temporarily achieved success. You have to keep working on it in order to have it. Both success and failure are two sides of the same coin. The coin can flip in a matter of time.
That being said, you should not give up on the idea of success but rather embrace it as a way of living.
Do not confuse your goals with your dreams. You can definitely achieve your goals successfully but fulfilling your dreams may take a lifetime or even more!
And to finally quote Seneca –
“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.”