Many people have their own perception of what “success” is. Most of the time, family and sometime even society can play a specific role in what we perceive as Success. I perceive “success” as not only an accomplishment but also the WANT, the ambition of wanting to better you as a person. Wanting to better you can make living more worth while. I see something that I want and I try to do everything in my power to get it, in the most honest way possible. I believe that success has been misconstrued because, now it is not about being happy, it is basically who has more money, or who is “better” at stepping on other people’s toes to get to the top. Successful attributes in people’s life should not be looked at in a negative; it should be a time of celebration and humbleness. Humbleness can only go but so far as while, because I know that every successful thing that has happened to me, I pretty much let people know. Now I do not go about this “letting people know” through bragging, I simply curve the conversation so that I can get an opportunity to share my successes with whoever I am talking to. I do not think that we can do something and connect success with it, by ourselves. I do believe that our parents help to mold what we see as being successful. From the time we were able to crawl right up to our high school and college graduation, our parents have been there to tell us just how “proud they are.” I know that some things that I do, I may not consider then, at first an anything big, but when my mother knows or dad or someone else in my family knows, they are proud, and they tell me what leap I just made in my life. When I was in high school during my sophomore and junior year, I was part of theater, quite active, to the point where I was competing for titles. I was part of plays and was very admired by my peers because I was always on stage and was actually good at what I did and always delivered results. But when it came to competing, I was not bringing home trophies like the other competitors were. The first time I went on competition, I was so excited and came back to my mother car with a smile, but as soon as I sat down, I began to cry. This cry was no ordinary type of cry; I was so upset that I did not bring home something to show for anything, I felt like I failed me and my mother. At this point I honestly thought that my career as an actress would never happen. The first thing that I actually enjoyed doing is not coming through for me. My mother and I sat in the parking lot for about twenty minutes; she reassured me that I should not give up, and that she was going to support me in whatever decision I make. Now that I look back on it, material possessions are what determined my success at this point. She said to keep participating in the plays and practice, practice, practice, and never let what people say keep me from getting “the gold.” I was very surprised, because I thought I was “crying for nothing,” and being such a baby about it. My mother told me to look at how far I came, I am already successful. In my senior year, I won first place in the regional competition for Prose Interpretation, won third place for Dramatic Monologue in the state competition and third for poetry in the state competition. This was a noted success for me in my year, and I could not have been prouder to let people know that I achieved BEYOND what I was going for and came out on top.
I know this sounds cliché, but I deem my mother to being successful, and the reason why I am so hard on myself as well. Since the day I was born, I remember my mother studying and going to school. I was always around books, study groups and bustling through the library after school hours. My mother told me the other day that she thinks “I will be in school for the rest of my life.” When my mother says that, I do not shrug my shoulders or cringe at this, because it is what I am used to. My mother is now in school at Immaculata University working toward getting her Bachelor’s in Nursing and will be graduating Fall 2008. Let me explain in greater detail just how driven this woman is. She only has her Associates, and is making six figures and yet she continues to build her resume and never settles. I asked her what keeps her working and going to school so much, when she is at this point in her life. She told me to look in the mirror and look at my baby brother. She is motivated by us, she wants to give us things that we want, need and deserve and possibly even more. She is very humble in this nature. She does not brag, and continues to fight hard in every situation. She is successful because she is happy with her children and wants to better her life. In this case, money does play as her helping her successes, but her SELF-FULFILLMENT is what keeps her ambition alive and I do believe this is what matters the most. This is what success is. My mother’s success and ambition was contagious from the start. Much of the way I handle my tasks and accept criticism is from my mother. When I meet people and they hear about all the things I have accomplished, the line is usually “Can you talk to my son/daughter,” I feel flattered by this, but my words can only do so much. If a person admires someone else, whether it is their age or older, or in my case younger, this can change lives more than we know. My mother is more than my mother,she is definately someone that I am proud to say that I look up to.
In the short aricle by Denise McBeth, she states that succes can also be a state of mind, " I set achievable goals (daily, weekly, monthly and yearly); I keep a constant focus on my personal and company values; I prioritise the important issues; I maintain a positive attitude; recognise success within my company; and live life to the full.I am a leader through 'walking the walk' and I don't offer business advice if I haven't experienced the relevant situation."
. I found this to be interesting because it is how people should go about success, although this is in a business perspective, it still applies.
I try so hard to achieve all that I believe I deserve. Although it is hard, it is worth it.
-Maria Carey "Fly Like a Bird"
I know this sounds cliché, but I deem my mother to being successful, and the reason why I am so hard on myself as well. Since the day I was born, I remember my mother studying and going to school. I was always around books, study groups and bustling through the library after school hours. My mother told me the other day that she thinks “I will be in school for the rest of my life.” When my mother says that, I do not shrug my shoulders or cringe at this, because it is what I am used to. My mother is now in school at Immaculata University working toward getting her Bachelor’s in Nursing and will be graduating Fall 2008. Let me explain in greater detail just how driven this woman is. She only has her Associates, and is making six figures and yet she continues to build her resume and never settles. I asked her what keeps her working and going to school so much, when she is at this point in her life. She told me to look in the mirror and look at my baby brother. She is motivated by us, she wants to give us things that we want, need and deserve and possibly even more. She is very humble in this nature. She does not brag, and continues to fight hard in every situation. She is successful because she is happy with her children and wants to better her life. In this case, money does play as her helping her successes, but her SELF-FULFILLMENT is what keeps her ambition alive and I do believe this is what matters the most. This is what success is. My mother’s success and ambition was contagious from the start. Much of the way I handle my tasks and accept criticism is from my mother. When I meet people and they hear about all the things I have accomplished, the line is usually “Can you talk to my son/daughter,” I feel flattered by this, but my words can only do so much. If a person admires someone else, whether it is their age or older, or in my case younger, this can change lives more than we know. My mother is more than my mother,she is definately someone that I am proud to say that I look up to.
In the short aricle by Denise McBeth, she states that succes can also be a state of mind, " I set achievable goals (daily, weekly, monthly and yearly); I keep a constant focus on my personal and company values; I prioritise the important issues; I maintain a positive attitude; recognise success within my company; and live life to the full.I am a leader through 'walking the walk' and I don't offer business advice if I haven't experienced the relevant situation."
. I found this to be interesting because it is how people should go about success, although this is in a business perspective, it still applies.
I try so hard to achieve all that I believe I deserve. Although it is hard, it is worth it.
-Maria Carey "Fly Like a Bird"
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