going back to my previous post, this is a topic that has been consuming my thoughts lately. maybe its just because i sit at my desk, staring out at the awesome view of lake union and queen anne from my window in a daze…thinking about anything and everything. well, this is of course in between more intense periods of work. 
but i am interested in this whole idea of happiness and success in life as i know that it involves much more than what most people perceive it to be. i may sound like a very pessimistic person in most of what i write here on my blog, but it’s more the fact that i’m a realist (and there is a difference if you think about it). so, if you are a realist and have been paying any attention at all to this endless, empty dark hole we refer to as human society and are so ‘fortunate’ to be blessed with, then you would probably sound pessimistic as well. if you think our species and society is awesome and in the right direction (i.e. overly optimistic about human civilization), well then i guess ignorance truly is bliss then.
anyway, most people would define success as being wealthy, famous or happy. this is, after all, why we go to college and seek out those top-paying positions as some of the worlds most prestigious corporations, right? unfortunately that’s the mentality of most people… that is how they define success. as a result, these people are essentially drones monotonously producing, manufacturing and outputting whatever their job entails day in and day out. their daily routine never changes, and they are all simply working for someone else’s profitability… making money for someone else in which case they will never see the proper compensation for in the end beyond all the BS their bosses schmooze them with (yep that’s right…material possessions). with this model, our society is nothing more than one great big global machine cranking out goods and information at incredible rates everyday. but for what? what exactly are we doing as a society, and what are we really striving for? the sad thing is that in reality i don’t even think we really know. in time if you asked these same people if they were successful, or better yet happy, i would guarantee that most would stutter on the question with a brief moment of hesitation before they either stated the truth or lied and said ‘of course’.
i, on the other hand, impetuously resist such an approach to life in favor of one with more meaning and fulfilling. although this is a constant struggle with the expanse of emptiness which engulfs human society.
so how can one evaluate success? is it that which you accomplish for yourself or for society as a whole? perhaps it’s really both? have you ever really paused for a moment to think about whether or not you have achieved success in life? if you have found meaning in life? if not, what’s getting in the way? i would hope the answer is not financial… success is not defined by money but rather by happiness. so, if you think you have achieved success, then ask yourself if you are truly happy.