Sources used in this document:

This analysis has introduced the complexities and the level of vagueness that can be inherent in the concept of being successful, but now I would like to give a brief overview of my own ideas and my personal experience of being close to someone I consider remarkably successful. First of all, given the relative nature in regards to the concept of success, I think it is incredibly important to determine what your own personal sense of success is and work to define it in a more concrete way. For example, I have one set of goals that are geared towards my college experience and this set covers many themes from personal achievements outside of school as well as within academics.

I have set these to be slightly ambitious but not overwhelming to the extent that they are not achievable with a deal of effort. Furthermore, I keep these goals written down and revisit them often. By looking at my goals weekly, I can get a sense of where I am at relative to these goals and try to improve my performance in areas that might be lacking if need be. Furthermore, simply by making the goal-checkup a regular practice that is part of a routine, the goals are habitually on my mind, or at least in the back of my mind, and I feel like this helps me to make better decisions in relation to these goals. For example, if I was never thinking about my goals, I would likely lose sight of them entirely so I feel like reviewing them often is a great asset.

I've also had the honor to be extremely close to man that most people would clearly deem to be successful. My father started a business in 2005 with about a $1,000 dollars, and has grown an empire that is worth approximately a billion dollars. Most people, including me especially, would consider my dad a success, despite the fact that he doesn't really even seem to think about such things. My dad works almost as hard today as he did when he started, maybe even harder sometimes. He is not motivated by the achievement of some abstract concept of success, rather he continually sets his own sets of goals and always puts everything he has into meeting those goals each and every day of his life. While I think my dad might feel like a success at some level, he definitely doesn't dwell on such concerns. Growing up watching my dad, coupled with my own experience, leads me to believe that abstractions such as success can be more of a distraction than anything. The best approach seems to be to learn to set good goals and work hard to meet those goals day in and day out.