(8) WHAT IS SUCCESS TO YOU?
Success — what is it? What is it REALLY to YOU? And how do you know when YOU have achieved it? Can it be actually be achieved in full? And what after that — then what? Is it the same as being fulfilled?
I ask myself a lot of these questions from time to time to make sure I’m heading in the right direction because I want to make sure I keep having direction in my life — and purpose. Most people equate success to something material — which isn’t always a bad thing. I think some of the most beautiful things we can experience in life can be perceived through the senses.
I am writing by a lake right now and for some reason I feel successful because at this moment, I am doing something that I actually want to do. It has nothing to do with a degree or money in my bank account, popularity or anything else. I don’t care about anything else right now .
For this reason, I think success can be a feeling too — like happiness. Sometimes I think we overlook the small things like meeting up with a long lost friend — these things can be successes too.
Well let’s go back: What is the definition of success? Success is “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose” or “having achieved popularity, profit, or distinction”. Some of the synonyms for “successful” are actually: “wealthy” and “prosperous”. But if you think about it, being “successful” can really be just as much about the journey of getting better at something as being exclusively about an ENDPOINT. That may not sound true by definition but do we really see someone as successful if they do not CONTINUOUSLY improve? Probably not — they normally are forgotten. Cold world I know lol. Success and being successful are ongoing, and so are a lot successful people, which is why they normally get hit with questions in interviews like: so what’s next for you?. The constant goal setting is imperative for a lot of the people we consider “successful people”.
You know how successful Apple is but could you imagine if Apple never came out with another iPhone? Probably not — they have to keep working towards a new device lol.
Now success, doesn’t have to be all about money, like the definition normally implies. Laura Dekker, who I consider a very successful person was a Dutch girl who sailed around the world, by herself, at the age of 14 (http://time.com/894/maidentrip/). She didn’t have a lot of money, she just did something no one else did — distinction…which is in the definition of success itself. She (and people like her) are successful for doing one thing. I think these are some of the most remarkable people. People who are successful without even worrying about money and in the process, they bring inspiration to large groups of people. There’s so much power in that I think. She even had adversity by the Netherlands having a big public case with her parents (for about a year) because they thought they were being negligent. There is a lot of adversity that comes with success guys, don’t be fooled and there are gonna be doubters and people who are gonna want to stand in the way — that comes with the territory. They will be the main ones believing at the finish line lol. (It’s funny how she said this in her movie “maiden trip” — you should see that btw on Netflix). She made it through it though!
I think if we are all on a journey to get better at something, then really no one is more successful than the other — idk maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m wrong because there are people who achieve more in life or are more ambitious or are more famous or hungry to make an impact on our world. But even then, we all affect someone’s life. I have picked the brains of some pretty famous people in my day and other people who have achieved SO much in their life and they are viewed as being VERY successful but they are unfulfilled — and this throws me for a loop because I normally viewed them as being both (successful and fulfilled). Laura Dekker was successful and fulfilled and not necessarily popular. which is why I respect people like her the most. That’s who I want to be and am striving to be like.
Diving into this further, I think being fulfilled is just enjoying where you are in your process of success — that’s what I think. Ok, fulfilled by definition: “satisfied or happy because of fully developing one’s abilities or character”. Hmmm…I noticed a key difference between my definition of fulfillment/the definition of success and the REAL definition of fulfillment: character. Success doesn’t say anything about character. Maybe that was why an extremely successful person can be unhappy or unfulfilled because of character — ”the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual”. Maybe their moral compass was off…I guess character is more powerful than I thought as it relates our happiness/fulfillment. Eureka moment👍🏾🤔.
A lot of times I think we look to external factors (other people) to define for us what success is and if we have achieved it. This isn’t always wrong, I just think that how we view our own success is what matters most because the world has its way of downplaying our accomplishments.
I am one of the few black meteorologists in the world and that achievement alone is what I feel gives me distinction because a lot of black men are dead or in jail — and that’s a fact. I won’t ever take that for granted. To be honest if I do nothing else in my life, I will always consider myself successful for this. I have been able to open a lot of peoples’ kinda about “what a meteorologist looks like” and about what “being black” is supposed to mean. That is success to me. I don’t like when people see “brown” and all of a sudden assume they are less successful or malicous than someone else. That bothers me a whole lot — I guess I wanted to break that type of thinking among other races and even African Americans themselves. I also want to let people know that black people don’t just have to be entertainers, we can be scientists (and other things) and we can make it cool — just as the late Garrett A. Morgan did (in invented the gas mask and the traffic light) and like Neil DeGrasse Tyson is doing. I like to box, dance, write poetry, play ball and other stuff too like a lot of other people do.
I feel sometimes that I have to say what I do so that people won’t be afraid of me because of color. Why? Because peoples’ non-verbals show fear when I walk by wanting to say hello — that’s why. And one day when what I do comes up, myself (or any minority) won’t have to experience any looks of disbelief because it will be moreso the norm — we are seeing this happen before our eyes as more blacks are becoming more successful and showing that they are multi-faceted. I am going to see as many countries as I can and talk to as many people as I can to also break down peoples’ perceptions of American blacks — one by one.
I think that’s gonna be my legacy. Notice how none of this is about money — but a legacy of breaking barriers and empowering people and experiencing all life has to offer — no matter who’s watching — and sharing stories with good company.
That, is what success means to me. What does success mean to you?
