What's Your Measure of Success?

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  • 88E30M50

    Grandmaster
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    Dec 29, 2008
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    Greenwood, IN
    Experiences and relationships are what matter. Stuff only matters if it supports those. Success to me is being surrounded by quality people who enjoy my company. It is having sons that are contributing to society and a wife that shares my values.

    Success is the realization that material pursuit is a fools errand early enough in life to not have buried myself in massive debt. Success is in not placing expectations on others and accepting none from them.

    Like your relationship with God, success is a personal journey. I don't expect that my definition of success makes sense to anyone else, but it works for me.
     

    Magyars

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    Mar 6, 2010
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    Yesterday I was sitting in my mancave priming 9mm brass with the fireplace lit up and cussing the American communist left ( TV on in the background )
    With my wife humming as she did her thing in the kitchen.
    Thinking how lucky I am....

    "Maybe happiness is this: not feeling like you should be elsewhere, doing something else, being someone else." ~ Isaac Asimov
     

    BE Mike

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    When I talked to a different buddy yesterday about the childhood friend's going on and on about his and his son's wealth and possessions, he said something that I hadn't considered (likely because I've never been wealthy and never will). He said, "I guess when rich people get together they talk about how much money they make and have and all the things that they own!"
     

    fullmetaljesus

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    It would depend on the context of the question.
    We could be talking personal or professional life.

    Professionally I have had many goals. Mostly chasing titles and salary range.
    I achieve a goal and set a new one. The last goals I set I accomplished so I made new goals and I'm chasing those.
    Am I successful? I'd say I have had some success.

    Personally, I'd measure success by the quality of the company I keep. I have some great friends and family. As long as I have quality people around me I'd call that success.
     

    eldirector

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    Brownsburg, IN
    Family happy and cared for? Opportunities to do the activities we enjoy, mixed with opportunities to "work for it"? Learning something new every day? Helping a few other folks on their journeys?

    For me, my professional success is one (of a few) mechanisms to enable my personal success. Having a little cash/benefits certainly makes other things a bit easier.
     

    1nderbeard

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    Yes, with all his faults, David was probably successful, in the end, in the eyes of the Lord.
    He was the literal comparable standard of every subsequent king after him, and the man after God's heart. He served God's purpose in his generation.
    Probably my favorite bible story. With all his faults, David was God's kingly standard. No one was like him after, except arguably Josiah.
     

    wcd

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    I recently had a BS session with a childhood buddy to whom I hadn't extensively talked in many, many years. He had a lot to say about his son, who apparently is very wealthy; earning middle 6 figures per annum. He went on and on about his son's home, watercraft, vehicles, gun collection, etc. It got me thinking. I'm far from wealthy, but pretty satisfied with my life. I've met many of my goals, but few had to do with how much money I have accumulated or the things I own. How about you? Do you consider yourself successful? What yardstick do you use for success?
    Being able to appreciate family, friends, and making it home at the end of the day. That does it for me.
     

    J Galt

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    Mar 21, 2020
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    Indianapolis
    I've been listening / watching some podcasts lately that talk about these things from a man's perspective. They offer some interesting observations on life.

    More than one of the podcasts all have similar observations. None of the following is directed at any one person, don't get emotional and personalize it. These are not "right" or "wrong" observations. Each person decides what criteria they want to comprise "success."

    One lie that is told in the US is that money doesn't matter, it does not buy happiness. Money matters. It does not directly buy happiness but can serve to bring you happiness. e.g. being able to support your family / parents because you make enough money

    You should try to be happy in life is another lie. Happiness is transitory. Give me a case of ammo and I am happy for several minutes. (PM me for my address to send ammo). Then I put it away and my happiness fades and I'm back to baseline. Purpose matters and that is achieved with dedication and discipline. Instead of pursuing happiness, define an objective and be disciplined in your path to get to that objective. Happiness will come along the way.

    Live one day at a time. Do this if you don't want to accomplish anything. If you have no objective, no goal, and want to just exist then this works. If you have a goal each day needs to be structured to achieve that goal. Goldfish in a bowl live one day at a time. Prisoners live one day at a time.

    So what is success?

    At the top of the list would be having purpose. That purpose can be doing missionary work in third world countries, making a lot of money by working for a company, becoming an entrepreneur and creating jobs, etc. There can be some discussion on what a purpose is. Is success a goal, or is it the way (the process) to get to the goal. In other words is it the end result or the process. I would make a case that success is not having an end goal as much as deciding on a process to live life by. An analogy would be school. You don't study for a grade (a goal), you study to understand the material (the process). That will almost always guarantee a good grade.

    The second part would be being useful as a man. That means being able to provide and protect.

    The third part would be living a moral life.

    Any of these points can be nit picked to the N'th degree, and most likely will be. :popcorn: These are general observations trying to summarize a complex topic that has been debated by philosophers for millennia. One internet post won't address it. Maybe it will be a slightly different perspective than the usual answers.

    [Edited for clarity.]
     
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    DragonGunner

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    Mar 14, 2010
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    N. Central IN
    If I did the best with what I had, stood for God and Truth and have peace in my soul. I judge myself first and things have worked out. Not by the worlds standards perhaps but it’s good enough for me.
     
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