Zen Garden > Is Money the ONLY Way to Measure Success?

Lots of money = great success. Is that the only way to measure success? I don't think so.

So, if somebody has been able to amass a vast fortune then you would probably deem them successful. People such as Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey and Warren Buffett would almost certainly fit that description. That is because they have an abundance of money.

Lots of money = great success.

OK. What about the likes of Saddam Hussein? What about Idi Amin? What about Adolf Hitler? All of these amassed VAST personal fortunes. Were they successful?

If you know a family that lives in the biggest house in the best neighborhood and have a fleet of exotic and luxury vehicles parked in the driveway, would you consider that family successful? What if the mother and father were drug lords? What then? Are they still successful in the true sense of the word?

Conversely, what about the family that spends every cent it has and sells all their worldly possessions to give one of their members a life-saving medical operation?

You see, money is only one indicator of success. It is only one measure.

To re-inforce this, would you consider Vincent Van Gogh to be a successful painter? Today you would because his paintings change hands for millions of dollars. Yet he died knowing that he was a pauper. For most of his sickly life he was supported financially by his brother, Theo.

Vincent van Gogh's last words were: "The sadness will last forever." Perhaps he should have said: "My paintings will last forever." But he was not to know. Today he would be a multi-billionaire.

Money is the easiest and most obvious measure of success. But it is not the only one. Looking into a well gives no indication of its depth. Sometimes we need to look a little deeper into what, at first, appears so obvious.

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Gary Simpson is the author of nine books covering a diverse range of subjects such as motivation, self esteem, affirmations, self defense, wealth creation and much more. His many motivation and success articles appear all over the web.

Gary Simpson is a 7th Dan karate master who teaches self defense, motivation, self help and wealth building to students around the world through home study courses. You may reprint this article as you include this author credit and an active link to his web site. Finance - Self Help - Motivation - Self Defense - Personal Growth MotivationSelfEsteem.com