Success in American Culture Research Essay

Success in American Culture Throughout time America has been forming it 's own version of what is known as the "idea of success". It started back in the early days when America was still young. Though the main point of success then was religious achievement, others began as well. Positive thinking is said to help obtain success (Richard). Although national success depends on strength in sovereignty, democracy, economics, and global leadership, it is also based on the personal views of success by Americans (Jackson). This idea is based on many different items such as: occupational achievement, religious accomplishments, home ownership, goals reached, overcoming unfortunate circumstances, and wealth. Occupational achievement is considered important to both men and women. It can be based on items such as: rank, as in the position one holds; income, or the amount one makes; or even the quantity of power one holds. Being president of the United States is one instance of power, because even though he is not necessarily the wealthiest person in the nation he is one of the most powerful, or influential. The most common of these examples of professional accomplishments is income because many American people see money as an important part of success (Richard). Religious accomplishments are dated back to the Puritan way of life when it was believed that if one was a good person who didn 't sin and had a good relationship with God, one could obtain heaven (Jackson). Morals were also important in acquiring heaven. Many of these same ideas are still alive today. Some people believe one can be successful if they have a good relationship with God. Spence 2 Home ownership is successful to some people because it is counted as a possession, which is a measurement of success for many. Some even use owning a home as a divider between middle class and the poor class of American people. The divider between middle and upper class would be based on the worth of

Cited: Jackson, I.C. "The Culture of Success vs. the Culture of Failure: An American Perspective | I.C. Jackson.com - Life By Design: Print, Web, and Social Engineering." I.C. Jackson (.com) - Life By Design: Print, Web, and Social Engineering. 27 Aug. 2010. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. Richard, Huber M. "Richard M. Huber - The American Idea of Success." Richard M. Huber - Biography. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.