Just for Men (and for the women who want to sneak a look). If you find it interesting, do leave a comment and pass it on.
The True Measure of a Man’s Success
“Success is the worst of liars,” said Friedrich Nietzsche. Success certainly can be deceptive. The frequently envied success of the rich and famous has often been found not to include the quality of life of others’ imagining. But success isn’t always what it seems because it is less than we think, but also because it can sometimes be far more. There are numerous forms of the measure of a man’s success that have little at all to do with celebrity or wealth; towering examples of success that are a triumph not of accumulated goods or assets, but of human character, courage, or generosity.
A life dedicated to science, art, or social care may prove to be exceptionally successful, whilst attracting little general public recognition, and little more than a basic living. Many of the most accomplished contributors to the advancement of human knowledge, culture and welfare, survived financially only by means of generous benefactors or the patronage of institutions. Any public recognition they received was often only posthumous.
What of the success of a man who labours long and hard to solve just one vital problem, or to overcome the limitations of a disability, to complete an important journey, or to father his children in an exceptional way? What of a man who excels in the pursuit of justice, in crafting the finest furniture, or in restoring a damaged environment, but whose extraordinary efforts remain little known and without publicity?
One thing is certainly beyond question: the excellence and quality of human life and society depends upon the accomplishment of a very broad range of successes and successful lives. Yet celebrity or wealth will characterize few of them.
Perhaps success is not so much about what you produce, or even how much you appear to accomplish, but the dedication and integrity with which you use the resources available to you: your time, your energy and your talents? Maybe it equates with the pursuit of what is meaningful rather than merely profitable; with courage, creativity, disciplined perseverance, giving to the world more than you take?
Success is not always what it seems for another reason: it is usually imagined much more strongly than ever it is experienced. And though a keen sense of success may accompany accomplishment, it is notorious for losing its glow and giving way to the unsettling awareness of things that still remain to be done.
If there is any true measure of a man’s success, perhaps it is the determination with which he chooses to live his life meaningfully, generously, passionately, and in his own special way. Most successful lives aren’t characterised by wealth or celebrity. The majority must make do with persevering self-belief, and a sense of the worthwhileness of their endeavour. And yet, precisely because that can be done, not one of us need ever be excluded or discouraged from a life that is genuinely successful.