“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” - Herman Cain
I truly believe in this quote, because human we want to be successful but some think about the fame and money of successful but not the motivation and ambition of happiness and successful. Being yourself and loving what you do is the key of happiness.
That's success not in the Aristotelian "eudaimonic" sense, but more like what Wm James called "the bitch-goddess"...
ReplyDelete“The moral flabbiness born of the exclusive worship of the bitch-goddess SUCCESS. That - with the squalid cash interpretation put on the word 'success' - is our national disease."
Herman Cain was an awful presidential candidate, though. Glad he was happy.
Remember to sign your posts.
That is definitely one way of putting it! Nonetheless, there is no hiding the fact that success seems to have become synonymous with the accumulation of wealth. While I suppose that it may one signifier of success, it is not success within itself.
DeleteFor instance, could a rich man or woman be considered successful if he earned his wealth at the cost of a healthy relationship with his or her spouse, children, and friends? Would it be possible to describe him or her as successful is they hate what they do and who they are? I personally think that would be a hard sale.
So, it seems that we are in need of a deeper understanding of wealth in our current society that is not simply a number represented on one's bank statement. Perhaps, the first step in approaching that definition would be to define happiness and how it is achieved, as hinted at by the quote above.
Sorry about that! I will remind myself to sign my post.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me on Wm James quote "Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action". He seems to have thought that happiness was achieved by orienting ourselves to a higher purpose, as well. I like that. I believe that to be spot on. Psychology teaches that as well, that going through the motions of eating, drinking, shelter, and sex may lead us to a point of "Is this all life is about?" It seems a pyschological definition of success may be actively engaging in a higher purpose, too.
ReplyDeletePS. I have yet to learn how to post for myself. All I am able to do is comment at this time.
Not necessarily. Happiness can lead to success, but a good work ethic with a terrible attitude may lead to great fortune as well. Happiness can enhance success, but success can be possessed without happiness if happiness is not the end goal.
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