Everyone wants to succeed. Even the anti-success pundits who ridicule self-help or who seek to discredit success philosophers. They are all equally obsessed with their own rendition of success. This is because success, as a word, embodies a broad range of ideals. Ultimately it means: achieving your own goals without violating your personal values and everyone wants it! Of course our goals differ so that success is always relative to the things we want to achieve. Whether it is surviving or thriving, participating or winning, financial rewards or industry recognition, security or surplus; we all want to succeed within the frame work of our personal beliefs or based on our own values and our unique set of goals.
However there is a dark side to success. Some psychologists call it success-depression. It occurs when the feelings you associated with achieving your goals are short lived or absent altogether. The sense of achievement and fulfilment you thought you would accompany your success is simply not there. It’s there for others who are celebrating with you but it’s just not there for you. Instead you are plagued and haunted by the question; is this it? Is this what I worked so hard for? Was the process ever worth the prize? It is like spending a life time climbing up a ladder only to realise when reaching the top that it was leaning against the wrong wall. It also happens to people who get the dream Man or woman, the dream house and car, the dream clothes and incomes and then are confused by the fact that they are still miserable and personally unhappy.
This is why several high achievers in business, sports or entertainment have become alcoholics, drug addicts, manic depressant and suicidal. To the public they look successful and should be happy. But in themselves; the feelings of achievement and fulfilment are simply not there.
There is clearly a place beyond success and that is the place I want to discuss. I believe it constitutes a more worthy goal and one for which future generations will bless your memory. It’s important for me to stress that ‘Beyond Success’ does not mean ‘Without Success’. Instead it refers to the next stop on the journey. It speaks to the ends for which success is but a means.
The good news is that aiming beyond success will increase the likelihood of you achieving success in the first place. It is said; aim for the stars and if you miss you may land on the moon! I say aim beyond personal success into the Galaxy of generational significance and if you miss; the least you’ll get is personal success!