Definition Essay - Achieving Success

What is success? On a simpler note, success is the attainment of wealth, position, honors or the like. But is that all there is in success or are there more? After all, to attain wealth or power, one must have qualities in him that can mold him to become successful such as patience, perseverance and determination. True success can be attained as long as one builds a good relationship with others or co-workers, earns their respect and learns to appreciate his work.
We often perceive the word success to be the same as money. As long as we have lots of money, live in a mansion and so on, we are successful. Because of this, we tend to be selfish and focus on earning money, thinking that once we have it, it will bring happiness in our lives. But we forget that not everything can be bought with money. As the saying goes, “Money cannot buy happiness.” Money is not the only factor to consider in order to determine whether we are successful or not. First, we need to appreciate our work. As long as we do not appreciate our work and persevere, we will never be successful. Without qualities like patience, and determination, we can never truly be successful.
At times, success is associated with fame and popularity. But being successful does not necessarily mean that you are famous or popular. Anyone can become famous as long as he or she believes in himself or herself and has the confidence to do what he or she likes. Another would be having the right connections and having enough publicity. Although there are successful people who are famous and popular, they did not become successful because their fame or popularity. They worked hard to be where they are right now and in the process, built relationships with others. They did not just expect their success to be handed down onto them; instead, they used their talents to start up their own business.
One of the reasons that led us to believe that success is money is media. Media has influenced us into thinking that being famous and rich means success. Because of their advertisements which show the success of celebrities, we tend to think that actors and actresses are the only ones successful. And seeing them on screen looking so happy makes us believe that money is happiness. As a result, we live selfish live thinking of nothing else but money. Although, there are those who attained success through hard work and determination, they earned the respect of their co-workers, gained new insights and built relationships that last a lifetime. Being truly successful mean that they can live better lives and they would no longer worry over their debts or loans- success means achieving you goals and being proud of yourself for being able to reach that goal. By attaining success, one can be content with life and be happy living his or her life.
Building a good relationship with co-workers, earning their respect and appreciating one’s own work can lead the path to attain true success. As the saying goes, “We don’t grow unless we take risks. Any successful company is riddled with failures.” Therefore, we should learn to be patient and try to exhibit the traits that make a person successful. After all, it is innate to man to be patient, persevering and determined. They just need the motivation to work on it to reach their full potential and achieve their goals.