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Meaning of Success

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Submitted By BHarvell
Words 784
Pages 4
Brandin Harvell
English 111
Definition Paper

Have you ever wondered why so many famous and rich people are stressed and unsure of the meaning of their life? The media has basically brainwashed us to believe that being successful involves having a lot of money, living in a huge house, have new sports cars. Even dictionary.com says success is “the attainment of wealth, position, honor, or the like” but this really isn’t the case. (Dictionary.com) Success is really based on ones aspirations which aren’t always about money. In this essay I’m going to talk about the deeper meaning of success. So what is success? For me success involves respect, appreciation and happiness. These traits are considered hard to attain. But in today’s world success is deceived in our thoughts to become rich. The media wants us to believe that being successful involves living in a self-centered life, in which involves nothing but the pursuit of riches. They say this will bring you happiness but this is not true. Money is simply like a new toy that eventually gets boring. Don’t get me wrong money can buy you luxuries, and might make your life easier but will it really make it better? No. For existence money can’t make somebody educated in a field; that can only come with hard work and dedication. Also money can’t help you solidify a long –term relationship with your boyfriend or girlfriend only thing that can do that is love and commitment. (Sasson) The terms respect, appreciation, integrity and patience these terms are essential for a successful person’s life. So the Medias image of success is easily disapproved. Their perception is that being successful is easily obtained but there’s no easy way to success, for me I strongly believe has a different meaning to different people. For example when I was in high school at Courtland High School, I played on the football team and our QBs dad had diabetes. His dad had gone blind not to long after he was born. But he would never miss a game. It was playoff time for us during our senior year and we made it past the semifinals to advance to the state championship. A day after the semifinal game his dad passed away from complications of his diabetes. The next week he dominated the state title game; he threw for over 400 yards and we won the title. The news reporter came over and shook his hand and asked him “How did you make it look so easy out there” and with tears coming down his face and the team hugged around his shoulders he replied “My Dad is up in heaven and this is the first time he has got to see me play” The following week he earned a football scholarship and said he felt like he was already successful because he just wanted to make his father proud. He didn’t need money or all the media portrays to feel successful, nobody does. Success involves completing a personal goal that means something to you. (LLC)
The point is that success varies from person to person. An NBA superstar, even though he’s rich, he might not consider himself successful until he wins a championship. Famous celebrities committing suicide proves that you can be filthy rich and be miserable. To conclude success doesn’t have a face. I strongly believe success is the ability to be able to wake up happy every day. So if you really want to be successful, find what makes you happy and go get it.

Works Cited

Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. 2012. 9 October 2012 <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/success>.

"Personal Success" LLC. 2012. 9 October 2012 <http://www.squidoo.com/personal_success>.

Sasson, Remez."Success Definition" www.SuccessConsciousness.com. 2012. 9 October 2012 <http://www.successconsciousness.com/success_definitions.htm>.

Name: _____________________________ Date: ______________

English 111- Definition Paper Rubric | Points Possible | Points Earned | Engaging Opening: opening clearly identifies the term and sets the stage for what is to follow in the essay. | 1 | | Grammar/Punctuation and Format: writing a paper with little to no grammatical errors, including verb tense, comma usage, capitalization, and spelling; Paper is formatted properly: typed, 12 point Times New Roman font, double spaced, headed correctly, and meets the 2 page length requirement. | 1 | | Works Cited: has a "Works Cited" page that is formatted correctly in MLA format and includes all sources cited within the body of the paper. | 1 | | Completeness: the definition is complete, letting the reader leave with a clear sense of the meaning of the term. | 1 | | Fitting Closing: the conclusion wraps up the message and refocuses on the word's meaning. | 1 | | Total | 5 | | Comments:

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