The meaning of Success

Ever since I stumble upon the concept of success, I was on the search for it's true meaning. It was like a search for the holy grail as there was no definitive answer. What one success is to one person may  not be to another. From the many books I' ve read, testimonials I have listen too and  videos I have seen, my conclusion is that successful people  define success as a personal one.

It is not fair to measure a person success merely by his or her wealth. Consider people like the late mother Theresa, many would see her as a successful woman because of a kind act  of sheltering and feeding the poor and forgotten people from the slumps . Many life's were transform from her deeds.

If we measure a person's success based on popularity, I think it is not really a good yardstick because how many celebrities that you know that are rich and famous have broken marriages, gone into drugs, depressions  and etc. They are bad influncer for the younger generation.

If we measure a success based on the influencing power he has, I think many people have suffered under another  tyranny.

A person who is already inherited  millions may look at himself as not successful. A person who finally landed himself a secure job  may consider himself successful especially when he comes from a disadvantage upbringing. 

I recall as I was climbing mount Kinabalu ( the highest official peak in south east asia), I would check with the porter every few minutes how far more to go. He would reply "Oh, not too far again" I gave up asking after I find myself still struggling with the climb. It was then 4 AM in the morning, the chilling wind and drizzle makes it even more difficult. We were actually groping in the dark for the guiding rope. During the climb, what i thought  was the peak was just another edge because the climb was quite steep and difficult to see the peak. The porter was encouraging me all the way and to ensure that I would not go off track.

Unlike the famous chinese  proverbs  puts it, I want to state that "The journey of the thousand steps begins with one guide " The journey is often on a long and winding climb.

That guide can be in form of a coach , mentor or someone you trust. It is so much easier than to make all the mistakes that you can avoid.