What is success?

MickeyFinns · 16 Jan 2015 at 22:39

I really enjoyed the recent "Who earns £200k a year" thread as the subject is a group of people who seem to be on a drastically differant route through life than my own.

I've got nothing against people who have professional/financial success as their main goal in life, it's as justified an aspiration as anything, but these days it does sometimes feel like the default thing to aspire too.

You sometimes even see people pursuing social careers such as nursing and teaching having to defend their choice of pursuing low renumeration careers.

I'm not even sure where I stand on this debate myself due to the limbo that having recently achieved my major life goal at a reasonably young age (25 years old, wanted to go on a massive adventure, cycled form London to China) has left me in.

So yeah. Bit of a ramble but I'd love to see what everyone has to contribute to the question "What is success to you?"

Terminal_Boy · 16 Jan 2015 at 22:44

Crush your enemies. See them driven before you. Hear the lamentations of their women.

Participant · 16 Jan 2015 at 22:46

Going to town on three women at once.

Indigo · 16 Jan 2015 at 22:47

To lead a happy life?

Different things make people tick and myself I'd much rather be doing something I enjoy for say 20k a year rather than something I don't for 200k.

FISHGUTS · 16 Jan 2015 at 22:58

To step out of my fathers shadow in the family business.
After 20 years of work and at 40 I feel this year I've done that.

I don't want my kids to feel they have to do the same.
Is that bad or good?

Stretch · 16 Jan 2015 at 22:59

Success is about setting goals and achieving them. It doesn't really matter what the goals are. If you succeed at one, set yourself another.

dholdi · 16 Jan 2015 at 23:00

IndigoGorilla said:
To lead a happy life?

Different things make people tick and myself I'd much rather be doing something I enjoy for say 20k a year rather than something I don't for 200k.

Mmmm, I think I would be able to put up with it.

Mynight · 16 Jan 2015 at 23:00

Money, love, health, happiness. Check, nope, nope, ish. I'm on my way.

pinkowl · 16 Jan 2015 at 23:04

Success to me is to get to your goals no matter how big or small they are. If you decide you want to go round the world and do so that would be success or if you wanted to get in to your dream job and you do its success. It doesnt matter what your life goals are, it will always be success to you to reach them.

For example my list would be moving abroad (tick), travel and see the world more, get in to the career i have been wanting to for a while (on my way there), own a house one day, finally do the college degree I have been thinking about (just been accepted to the college) and to get fit (trying to at the moment)

V F · 16 Jan 2015 at 23:06

What is with these two threads? It reads like Facebook and starting to feel like Facebook. As they see what others have supposedly achieved therefor others having a scare like an early/midlife crisis… Considering the thread starter is 26.

MickeyFinns · 16 Jan 2015 at 23:13

V F said:
What is with these two threads? It reads like Facebook and starting to feel like Facebook. As they see what others have supposedly achieved therefor others having a scare like an early/midlife crisis… Considering the thread starter is 26.

Yes and no. I'm not so much interested in what people have actually achieved compared to myself but more what they want to achieve.

Where it gets interesting is where one person has achieved something someone else consideres non important and you get this conflict of personal against societal achievements.

If you want to phrase it as a "quarter life" crisis you can but I think it, from my point of view, hearing other peoples opinions on this is beneficial.

MB101 · 16 Jan 2015 at 23:14

V F said:
What is with these two threads? It reads like Facebook and starting to feel like Facebook. As they see what others have supposedly achieved therefor others having a scare like an early/midlife crisis… Considering the thread starter is 26.

One is for people who think they've made it (but they haven't), the other is for people who justify failure with 'life goals'.

cainer · 16 Jan 2015 at 23:16

Stretch said:
Success is about setting goals and achieving them. It doesn't really matter what the goals are. If you succeed at one, set yourself another.

this, too many people relate success purely to financial gain

Ghosteh · 16 Jan 2015 at 23:21

cainer said:
this, too many people relate success purely to financial gain

What if one of your goals is financial success?
It has never been one of mine, until the chance came around to make some money, not I'm more determined to make it. It's certainly not the be-all and end-all of things though.

squarepusher · 16 Jan 2015 at 23:22

staring at the toaster on a morning using nothing but my mind to pop it up.

cainer · 16 Jan 2015 at 23:26

Ghosteh said:
What if one of your goals is financial success?
It has never been one of mine, until the chance came around to make some money, not I'm more determined to make it. It's certainly not the be-all and end-all of things though.

shall i highlight the word purely for you?

Ghosteh · 16 Jan 2015 at 23:27

cainer said:
shall i highlight the word purely for you?

If you could. Whisky is making me blind, it appears.

Merlin5 · 17 Jan 2015 at 00:04

Buying a starbar whenever I want.

spoffle · 17 Jan 2015 at 00:15

FISHGUTS said:
To step out of my fathers shadow in the family business.
After 20 years of work and at 40 I feel this year I've done that.

I don't want my kids to feel they have to do the same.
Is that bad or good?

Dean, is that you?

Wizzfizz · 17 Jan 2015 at 00:19

Participant said:
Going to town on three women at once.

Would you not rather take them to bed?