How Is Success Defined?

What is success? Is it process of doing a task and receiving a positive result, or is it simply achieving your personal goals? Success can mean many things it all just depends on the individual. Although someone is successful in school, that does not necessarily mean they will lead a successful life. According to the American Heritage Dictionary success is, "the achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted, and/or the gaining of fame or prosperity." Even over the course of history, the meaning of the word has not really changed. The only things that have changed over time are the things that people think they have to have in order to be successful. Some people believe success means money and power. For others emotional happiness is more important, and yet others rate popularity above everything else. No matter the way people view the word everyone is searching for success in their lives all the time whether it is great of small.

In the past people believed that in order to have success you had to have a good job, a nice house, and family. Today those things are still important, but most people just focus on their jobs and how much they earn. During the Great Depression the people that could find work and provide for their families were the most successful people of that time. Some people would also say that the government was also successful because it got the country back on its feet. Yet other people that believe you have to have money and power to have success might believe that

the most successful people of that time were the larger companies. Mainly because they were able to keep the country going by provide some jobs to the public.

As time went on and more and more people started making money they started believing that you could not have success if you were not a wealthy high class individual. Today the world is so fixated on the finer things in life that most people do not think they can be successful