The measure of success

There were 2 things this week that caught my attention.

I read an email sent by a friend about a speech Bill Gates gave to some High School student on 11 things they did not and will not learn in school.  One of the points read ‘the world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.’

I pondered this for a moment. What life experience led Bill Gates to this point?

It was the next day when flicking through the paper I noticed a picture of a beautiful girl in the Obituary section. It caught my attention enough to read some of the tributes, all of which gave the most amazing thanks for what she had done and given in her life through her courage, love and kindness at even the most challenging times.

I thought back to the comments of Bill Gates and thought how important it is to clarify the term accomplishment.

Quite often we define our success in terms of what is fashionable, popular or innovative at that time. We generally underrate the value of steps towards improving our own personal qualities that intern improve the quality of the life for others.

The impact of these steps while not seen as mentionable ‘successes’ may have far greater implications for humanity, relationships and survival on earth.

So how do you measure success and accomplishments? Perhaps the first step is to look at the positive influence of your actions on others and then to feel good about yourself for them. This alone is an achievement.

Tricia LaBella