An Example Essay on Success

Success: We Want It

What is something that we desire to have, work diligently our entire life for, and will do almost anything to obtain? It is success. Webster's dictionary defines success as "favorable or desired outcome . . . the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence." As humans, we have a drive for success; our life depends on it. Success in love, success in life, success in prosperity. We all want success.

In order to achieve our goal of success, we must want more out of life. To get more out of life we must set goals for ourselves. One such goal would be having a successful career. Even though having a successful career causes us to make sacrifices, it enables us to have "more" money, "more" opportunities, and "more" respect.

If we have a successful career that allows us to make more money, we will be happier. Being able to provide for our family will be so much easier because we will not have as much financial stress. We can buy that boat, that camping trailer, that cabin, that house, or that car we always dreamed of having. Not to mention the fact we can take leisure trips to Europe, take cruises to the Bahamas, or just escape for the weekend to our cabin. Our spouse will be happy because there is less stress on our marriage. He or she will not have to worry about bill collectors calling or the bank repossessing our vehicle or home. Also, we will not be one of those families that live from paycheck to paycheck, as long as we manage our finances properly.

More money also leads to more happiness not just in our life, but other's lives as well. Our kids will be happier because they will not have to do without any of their basic needs. While they are growing up, they will be able to have many memories to reminisce later in life about because they will have been raised in a happy home. They will be able to have a college education because we will be financially stable enough to help pay for it.

Being successful in our career also allows us to have more opportunities because we have more choices, as a skilled professional. Since we are more knowledgeable than the average person in our profession, we have less competition. For compensation, our wages are more. Even though we may not be the richest person in the world, more than likely we will never be poor. We will never have to worry about starving or being homeless.

Another advantage of having more opportunities is that we have more room for advancing to an even higher position than what we already have. We have health insurance and a wonderful retirement plan. Better benefits mean that we are in better health when we become the age to retire and we have the financial stability so we do not have to worry about working the rest of our life. We will be able to live a longer, healthier, happier life.

An important aspect of a highly successful career is the amount of respect we receive from our peers. We are respected because of our expertise and our knowledge. We "stand out" above the average person. We are noticed, loved and admired by many. Our opinion is valued. Other people's opinions are high of us. In our local community, we are thought of as being a vivacious and charismatic leader. Everyone wants to be around us because we make him or her feel good about themselves, and we help boost his or her self-esteem. In return, this will make our social life more fulfilling because we have more friends.

Another type of respect that we receive if we are successful in our career is from our family. Our children look up to us as a role model; they want to be just like us. They want to be able to provide for their family the same way we have for them. Plus, we also have a higher self-esteem because we have a sense of accomplishment, which makes us respect ourselves.

Success has to be earned; we just do not come by it naturally. After many years of long hours studying, hard labor and countless hours of our time, success may eventually be reached. However, some of us may work an entire lifetime only to have our opportunity for success to pass us by on the wayside. We never reach the level of success that we have fought for our whole life. This can be caused by lack of total commitment or not having proper access to vital support we may have needed. On the other hand, some of us do not become successful strictly because we do not allow ourselves to reach our full potential.

More money, more opportunities, more respect. We all want more out of life. For us to be successful, sacrifices must be made. Sacrifices in time, sacrifices in decisions, sacrifices in life. We all make sacrifices to get more out of life. In the end, it all pays off if we stick to our goals.