The controversy in the relationship between money and success has been existing for a very long time. In particular, the modern generation attaches so much importance to money in the sense that success and money are presumed to be one and the same thing. Well, while we may totally refute the significant roles played by money in contemporary societies, it is perhaps prudent to carry out critical analysis of the factors that make up success even without considering money in the comparison matrix.
To a large extent, the society has already been brainwashed to think along one line and imagine that success can be equated to money. As the world continues to adopt and embrace capitalistic ideals and ideas, the actual meaning of success is also being altered to some mediocre definitions and mindsets (Moorcroft 12). It is interesting to learn that money has becomes the only element that gauges the success of individuals.
As it stands now, it is indeed factual that money can be used to buy both abstract and tangible products such as life, time, fame, power and material wealth like automobiles and buildings. It is apparent that every other person has prioritized money as the prime goal in life because it accelerates success. Nonetheless, success can be aptly measured using several other variables apart from money. It is against this backdrop that this essay argues that success in life is a broad entity that cannot be merely measured by money.
Does money guarantee success in life?
It can be erroneous to ignore other numerous factors that determine success in life and only peg our arguments on money. For instance, have we ever thought of how our careers contribute towards success in life? Needless to say, there is a certain level of satisfaction that we gain from our individual careers that may never be attained from money.
Various careers generate different objectives, values and measurement of success. It can as well be acceptable to argue that satisfaction itself brings about success. A person who is never satisfied by his career or keeps on complaining about people around him can hardly be considered to be successful. A well established career that brings about happiness in ones roles and responsibilities is a true measure of success (Blasingame par. 3).
Let us critically look at these diverse situations regarding career. An athlete can probably measure his/her level of success by winning awards after stiff competition or being nominated to take part in a famous tournament. For a scientist, success can be measured by a major breakthrough in a given scientific research study. Better still, a teacher can measure his/her success by the number of students who excel in respective subjects.
A writer is supposedly perceived to be successful when a given written work is published by a top publisher and eventually recognized by the audience as a masterpiece. These are just some diverse examples of how career can be used to generate the much-needed success in life even without the inclusion of money in the equation.
Second, numbers can also be suitably used to measure success. Hence, any entity that can be enumerated may be utilized as a form of measurement. To make this clear, each career has a different degree of measurement associated with it. For example, the number of awards attained by an athlete can be a powerful measure of success. Scientists often strive to win awards in the course of their long term struggles in innovating and inventing.
A case in point is the prestigious Nobel Prize that is recognized worldwide. Any scientist who eventually lands on this award is highly likely to be counted as successful in life in spite of the money value attached to it. In any case, such an award is more of a recognition than monetary reward to an accomplished scientist. It is the same case with Pulitzer award given to outstanding authors or the Grammy’s award presented to music artists.
Individuals also stand the chance of measuring their own levels of success. This implies that apart from being gauged by others in terms of how much we are or should be successful, personal aspirations, dreams and ambitions are adequate to measure success (Durvasula and Lysonski 173). It is vital to mention that such aspirations or dreams may be far from the element of money. For instance, a young man who is passionate to marry a certain beautiful lady may measure his own level success by just that!
How is this definition of success related to money? Let us consider another scenario. A national leader who is already wealthy may have a deep desire to leave a legacy of his leadership to the future generations or just to appear in history books as a statesman and a patriot to his country. If such a person achieves the ambition, it is still tantamount to success at both personal and national levels.
Let us now deviate slightly in this argument and dwell a bit on happiness and peace in life. Sincerely speaking, there is no single person in life who does not endeavor to be happy and enjoy optimum degree of peace. These are fundamental and inherent human requirements that definitely form a larger part of success in life. If you happen to the richest fellow globally, there is no guarantee that you will be the happiest. Better still, peace may easily elude a rich person compared to someone who has established a non-monetary source of happiness or success (Colombo, Cullen and Lisle 87).
On the other hand, it is fundamental to clarify that there are instances when happiness can be bought by money. A holiday trip to a luxurious destination demands money and can consequently elicit a lot of happiness albeit for a short period. The only challenge is that this cannot always be the case. Thus, if money cannot buy happiness and peace all the time, it is proper to argue that people should resort to other factors that generate true peace and happiness instead of giving a huge success score to money.
People who are surrounded by authentic love from families and friends stand a better opportunity to succeed in life compared to moneyed individuals who are world apart from others. In addition, the elements of measuring success in life are very dynamic with the passage of time.
Some millions of years ago when man was still living in caves, the measure of success was most likely the size of the cave a person possessed. This has changed a lot and even in the future, the much-taunted money as the degree of success may eventually fade away (Franklin 48). Goals and personal values can be a better measure of success besides money.
Better ways to measure success
The debate about money and success has been of great interest for a long time. For a fact, some critiques of monetary success tend to argue that money drives evil and therefore cannot contribute towards success. Although there might be some merit in the latter assertion, attaining success especially in modern life is heavily depended on money. A satisfactory career cannot be earned without proper monetary investment in education.
Those who aspire to be specialty doctors and professional pilots for instance cannot ignore lump sum spending in acquiring requisite knowledge and skills. The world is highly uncertain and insecure. Individuals with adequate money either as cash or in bank accounts can easily secure their current and future lives by purchasing decent homes, enrolling their families in medical cover and so on (Levin 4).
By far and large, such monetary achievements are the blatant signs of success as defined by the world around us. Even without meddling too much into the question of money and success, the former improves the quality or standard of life almost instantly.
Having pointed out the above, it is perhaps vital to consider the level at which money can and should guarantee success in life. It appears that the contemporary society has overrated the actual input of money into the success of individuals. For example, do we really require surplus money that is far and above our basic needs in life? Necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, education and security definitely demand monetary spending on a regular or even daily basis.
Nevertheless, any human desires beyond these basic parameters may simply culminate into nothing less than greed. Once we have met our list of priorities in life, any other extra money that comes our way may not be necessary and therefore cannot guarantee success at all. Economists usually argue that human needs are insatiable.
These human needs are roughly attached to money. This means that we can never attain success in life based on the amount of money accumulated in bank accounts or stashed in our pockets. It is a high time for the society to acquire a different mindset when it comes to the aspects of success and money (Bortolotti 26).
Let us probe ourselves about these important questions. What do you consider to be a priority in your life? Being loved or excelling as a wealthy entrepreneur? If you can ponder over these questions, you will probably realize that after every riches and massive monetary gains, all of us still desire to be loved and accepted. The opposite cannot be true so to speak. Besides, a family that is healthy counts itself more successful than the one tormented by illnesses in spite of wealth.
Riches pail into insignificance when compared to the two situations pointed above (Lemrová 338). This does not conclude that money does not matter in life. As much as we have money, it is still of a lesser priority than love, peace, joy, and comfort as far as success is concerned. Isn’t that logical? For people with surplus money, they are still expected to be sufficiently philanthropic in helping others who may be struggling to make ends meet.
In actual sense, extending help to other people is a core human value attached to success. People who purport to be financially successful should demonstrate this success through charity work. If we fail to be helpful to the less fortunate in society, how will the same society define us as successful?
Personal values as measures of success
Let us now shift gears and create a different perspective. Our verbal utterances cannot depict the inner values we hold or cherish. In this regard, humanity towers all the other measures of success we may imagine. If any other perceived or presumed measure of success does not value the principle of humanity, then it should be considered as a failure and inconsequential. Is there a possibility of anyone refuting successful and humane lives of people like Florence Nightingale and mother Teresa?
The world still celebrate and remember their successes in life not based on money they acquired, but due to humane gesture they extended to the suffering segment of society. They actually epitomized true success. It automatically expounds the reason why they are still a darling to the world (Kenny 29).
Their excellence merited from the success they attained as kind human beings. Another spectacular example is that of Oskar Schindler. He indeed deserves to be referred as a successful personality after extending great love and humanity with his hard earned cash. If individual values can be in tandem with humanity and due regard for the welfare of other people, then such values should count towards success in life.
A brainwashed society
The society has evidently been brainwashed by the media in conjunction with mainstream marketing. As such, a large portion of society has embraced media definition of success, which is all wrong because it is based on money and how much has been acquired by a person.
Who doesn’t acknowledge the fact that marketers define success and happiness through material possessions such as latest technologies, fashions, latest cars and lavish residential buildings? The unfortunate thing is that we have accepted, even without questioning, the falsely advertised myth about success in life.
The same society is also finding it too cumbersome to change the already ingrained mindset that goes against the key tenets of success such as patience, integrity, appreciation, respect and dignity. It is a deceit from contemporary marketers that people can only be successful through wealthy possessions. The media has also usurped our independence to think and reason out as logical minds so that they can boost their volumes of sales and profitability (James 43).
To make matters worse, they are creating a general impression that happiness and success in life are only possible if we pursue money to the last coin and of course live a self-centered life. Due to such widespread propagation of lies and stereotypic ideologies, it is becoming extremely difficult for society to elevate the realistic ideals of success.
Conclusion
To recap it all, comforts and conveniences can be bought using money. Although these superficial luxuries may be a source of happiness and success, they cannot pragmatically last for a long time. In other words, the elements of success bought by money can only remain relevant for a while and therefore fail to meet the latent human needs and desires.
It is equally worthy to point out that life can be made easier by money. Nevertheless, the same money cannot guarantee a better life. From an objective point of view, wisdom and knowledge are hardly acquired using money. Unless a person works smart towards attaining desired dreams and ambitions, a well balanced life and success may remain a mirage.
Works Cited
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