We All Have Different Views of What it Means to Be a Successful Person

Qualities of a Successful Person

Within American society there is perhaps one quality which is revered above all others, and that is the attainment of success. From professional success that can be measured by promotions and pay raises, to the personal success found in the form of family and friends, the ways in which we identify a successful person are practically limitless. Due to the inherent subjectivity of the term, a wealthy individual living in the lap of luxury can be considered successful for attaining financial freedom, while a happy wanderer with nothing to their name can be viewed as a success for achieving the same freedom. When asked to consider the question of what defines success, I personally believe that the most successful people in today's day and age are those who have translated their natural talents into the pursuit of a productive career. The philosopher Confucius wisely advised us to "choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life," and when I think of the modern day embodiment of this age old maxim, the first person I envision is Steve Jobs.

Although he recently passed away at the age of 56 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, the visionary chairman of Apple Inc. revolutionized many aspects of life as we know it. By taking his innate love of technical tinkering, and transforming it into the world's foremost manufacturer of innovative computers technology, Jobs leveled the proverbial playing field by bringing easily accessible computer applications directly to consumers. Among the legendary products designed and brought to market by Jobs are the Macintosh computer, which was the first computing device for personal use, the iPod, which captured the entire musical catalog and enabled us instant mobile access to our favorite songs, the iPhone, which represents the natural nexus of personal communication and global interconnectedness. Today there are literally billions of people across the planet using one of Jobs' Apple products to connect with faraway friends, explore the informational avenues afforded by the internet, or to simply add convenience to their everyday routines.

These contributions to humanity's technological progress have indeed been very profitable for Jobs, whose marketing savvy far exceeded his inventive spirit, but the reason I consider him to be a representation of success is not that he became a multimillionaire, but that he did so by doing what he loved most. As Paola Antonelli, an Apple aficionado who currently works as the senior curator of architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, recently observed about Jobs and his renowned line of Apple products, he "had an exceptional eye for design, and not just an eye, but an intelligence for design & #8230; this is what Steve cared passionately about."1 The life that Jobs led was one defined by his innovative spirit and his relentless desire to improve the lives of others by making technology intuitive and easily accessible for everyone, and in my estimation, this is the true measure of what it means to be a successful person. Jobs himself confirmed this during his rousing 2005 Commencement Speech delivered to Stanford University graduates, when he reflected on the nature of his own success, by saying simply that "I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life."