Am I Successful?

Once when I was flying down to Delhi from Hyderabad, I met a gentleman in the plane. He seemed very friendly and we soon started talking. He started sharing why he thinks earning lots of money is very important and being rich is the panacea for everything. He told me that he works with many young minds like me and helps them in becoming successful. Becoming an investor and encouraging others to become one was his secret sauce. Although I could not debunk his idea of being successful I was uncomfortable in using it for being successful on my own.

Only the other day another gentlemen wrote to me explaining why I should not trade-off my time for money. That being successful meant creating systems and selecting the right people to run them. He was encouraging me to be an entrepreneur. This made me wonder once again if this is what success meant to me.

Yesterday, while I was waiting for my turn to see the doctor, I called up my old friend to check how is life treating him. He told me how busy his corporate life was keeping him and that he had reserved weekends and holidays for himself to enjoy the hefty package his organization was giving him. Though sometimes his weekend was also taken away by his demanding job. He had compartmentalized his life into work and leisure days and tried to manage his stress by pursuing leisure sporadically. I started pondering if we really worked hard in our childhood to get this as reward.

While I was lost in my thoughts, the receptionist softly reminded me that it was my turn to go. After the routine check up, I asked my doctor who was a private consultant if she was happy in her job. She told me she had got used to her hectic life. She missed enjoying small things in her life but her profession left her with very little time.

I came back and started finishing the story I had left midway. I felt so light and content penning down my thoughts. It is then that I realised that success is all about meeting your own expectations. It does not necessarily mean living upto the yardstick which society has laid down. It means pursuing a career of your interest, finding time for your hobbies and taking positively whatever comes in your stride. Life is not a bed of roses and there are always some tough experiences which will come your way. Those experiences help in building your character and success is all about learning from these experiences and moving ahead in life.