COURSE: ENGLISH COMPOSITION 1
INSTRUCTOR: DR JACOB SIZI
DATE: 02-09-2014
A SUCCESSFUL PERSON
What really is success? What makes an individual successful? According to Merriam-Webster mini Dictionary, success is defined as, “the act of achieving something good that you have been trying to do, or something that has a god result or is very popular. The word ‘success’ originated in the mid-16th century from Latin ‘successus’ , from the verb ‘succedere’. The society at large thinks success is all about material things such as how expensive one’s car is, how large one’s house is or one’s social status in the society and financial freedom. However, success does not basically deal with material goods and properties, but is tied to broader concepts such as happiness, overcoming hardship and achieving certain goals.
The true indicator of success is not determined by what an individual accomplishes but rather how the individual feels after an accomplishment. In other words, in order for one to be seen as successful, he or she must be happy or contented. For instance, if I look back at my life since I was born till this moment and I feel satisfied and happy with my current situation, I would consider myself a success. However, if I look back and I feel I could have done better and feel disappointed, I would not consider myself to be a success. Hence, success is directly proportional to happiness.
Also, success can be attained by achievement of one’s goals. In other to accomplish a specific goal, one must start by achieving smaller goals which will later lead to the main achievement. For example, before Germany soccer players could win the FIFA world cup, they had to go through European play offs, topped their group, made it through the world cup group stages, round of 16, quarter and seminal finals before reaching finals and winning it. Success no matter how big or small they are