The Measure Of Success

There's something to reflect upon, my friends! How do you define success? And who is to decide whether you've realized your potential and fulfilled yourself or not? Hasn't it something to do with values in life?

I'm strongly against using a blog for personal vendettas or simply getting mean, and it's difficult to hide the fact that this post is spurred by certain peoples behavior that still seem to effect my life, but I'll try to expand this to a more general discussion. 'Cause this is not about one person, but as I said about values.

I'll have to ask myself "Am I a failure? Haven't I done enough to realize my potential?" To answer the last question first - I think that's something you're never finished doing. It's like what you see to the right here: Under construction... And I'm certainly not going to take another man's opinion on what my potential might be, unless I have some respect for that man's opinions in the first place.

To me (and hopefully to others too) success isn't being a dentist, just 'cause you get a healthy pay check every month. Success is when you're a good dentist, 'cause no doubt there are a lot of bad ones... As there are good and bad doctors, teachers, shoe salesmen, engineers, artists, lawyers, actresses, musicians, politicians, electricians, scientists, architects, and so on. You get my drift? Whatever you do with your life, it's how you do it that determines if you've had fulfilled yourself or not.

I have just turned 41, and if I'm lucky that's about halfway through life. It means that I have so many years left to learn and expand my horizons. Life isn't about getting your degree and a job in your early twenties only to expand your wallet, I'm sure there must be far more in life than that. What a sad little life, not daring to take chances! I don't think anyone ever been happy from chasing fortune, only wanting a fancier boat and a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. I believe some suffers from the delusion that money makes its easier not being happy, while they don't understand that it might be because of the money that they're unhappy. Well, not the money in itself, but the choices they had to make in order to get rich.

And then that these people have the stomach to judge others (who they haven't been in contact with for years...), and then insist on that they have a lesser life, not "realizing their extraordinary potential". Well, be careful, it's my family you're talking about! And I think being able to afford to work only three or four days a week, and then indulge in your hobbies the other days, is something a lot of people would love to be able to.

Just the other day I learned something that is very relevant to this. Queen guitarist Brian May has recently completed his doctoral thesis in astrophysics, only 36 years "late", which shows it never is to late. And boy, aren't we happy he chose to pursue his musical dream back then?