By Jennifer Bragg

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word success as a “favorable or desired outcome” or “the attainment of wealth， favor， or eminence.”1 The Oxford English Dictionary adds to that definition by adding fame and social status as determining factors of success.

Some rankings put Steve Jobs， Bill Gates， J. K. Rowling， Michael Jackson and Albert Einstein as among the most successful people in the world.2 All of them have significantly impacted the industries or media to which they belonged. What Michael Jackson did for music is the same as what Albert Einstein did for physics with his theory of relativity. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs revolutionized the information technology industry to bring us into the age of cantlive-without-it gadgetry3 that we know today.

J. K. Rowling， the author of the famous Harry Potter novels， wrote her books during her work breaks. Tapping into her vivid imagination， she created a world that sold more than 500 million books and became hit4 movies. A devoted readership made her the ninth most successful fiction author in history， with an estimated net worth of $650 million in 2017. She certainly applies to the dictionary definition of success， but for her it didnt come easy. She was rejected from publishers about a dozen times before one took a chance on her. This is what people love： the rags-to-riches5 success story.

In contrast to Rowling， some artists practically starved in life to make ends meet， but after death their works sold for tens of millions of dollars. The Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh6 is a great example. When he was alive， he only sold one painting even though he created more than 2，000 works of art. He had to rely on his brother， Theo， for financial help. Van Gogh died when he was 37 years old and with very little money to his name. However， he was later discovered to have been one of the most prolific7 and well-regarded artists in history. In 1990， his painting Portrait of Dr. Gachet 8 sold for$82.5 million， which has a value today of around $137 million. So， the question is： Is Van Gogh considered successful even though he died poor？

Besides the dictionary definitions， different people have competing ideas of what success really means. It depends on whom you talk to. American psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth believes“grit”9 is one of the factors that can identify a successful person. In the 1990s， Duckworth quit her job as a management consultant and went to work as a school teacher. She discovered that students who had the quality of grit—which is defined as having courage and strength of character to pursue and stick with goals—was more of an indicator of success than a persons IQ. She conducted research on this subject and created a measurement to see how much grit a person had and paired it with their achievements in life.

Another “success expert” is Richard St. John， who is a motivational speaker and author. His perspective is that sometimes people do everything they can to achieve a specific goal， which leads to success， but then fail because they do not continue with the same drive they once had. In his own life， St. John experienced success with a business he created， but once he reached success， he stopped working hard and his business failed. It took him seven years to build himself back up to the success he once was. From this experience， he said eight principles can help a person achieve success： passion， work， focus， push， ideas， improve， serve， persist. From his own story， he learned that success is a continuous journey.

Because many people want to find success in life， one needs only to look online for different rankings and lists of what makes a person successful. Often times there is repetition because the majority agree on the same principles and characteristics that make a person a success. One example is from Inc. magazine， a publication targeted towards business people and entrepreneurs. Inc. points to the following qualities that make a person successful：

Drive—the energy a person has to pursue a goal using his or her own resources

Self-reliance—an independent spirit that people can use to navigate10 challenges by themselves

Patience—an ability to push through and tolerate challenges without getting too angry

Integrity—believing in doing the “right thing” and having strong moral principles

Passion—an enthusiasm that drives a person to achieve goals

In the United States， students who major in business or management are sometimes assigned to read the same few books that are famous for motivating people with ambition to succeed. One such book is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey11. Among the seven habits are being proactive12， which is yet another way to define perseverance； seeking to understand things first， and then to be understood by others； and beginning with the end in mind， or creating a list of goals and applying personal principles to these goals. This book was first published in 1989 and sold 25 million copies worldwide， which is， in itself， a success.

Success isnt always about getting a lot of money or fans or wealth， even though those are the stories we see most often. There are other people who we may not know well， but who have achieved success in their own right. One perfect example is mothers. Women who spend most of their time， sometimes for years， raising their children are sometimes considered a “success”. They spent days， months， and years teaching their children from birth to young adulthood how to behave and perform daily tasks. If a child grows up to be a kind， helpful， thoughtful and considerate adult， can the mother consider herself a success？

Perhaps success really is subjective， and its up to individuals to define it for themselves. However， one thing seems to be consistent when we search for the definition and can be best summed up in a quote from the late13 Steve Jobs， who said， “If you really look closely， most overnight successes took a long time.”

1. Merriam-Webster Dictionary：韋氏詞典，由被譽為“美國學術和教育之父”的辭典編纂者、拼寫改革的倡導者諾阿·韋伯斯特編寫；eminence： 出眾，卓越。

2. 提及人物依次為史蒂夫·喬布斯、比爾·蓋茨、J. K. 羅琳、邁克爾·杰克遜、阿爾伯特·愛因斯坦。

3. gadgetry： 小配件，小玩意。

4. hit： 成功而轟動一時的事物（如電影、歌曲等）。

5. rags-to-riches： 白手起家。

6. Vincent van Gogh： 文森特·凡·高（1853—1890），荷蘭后印象主義代表人物之一。

7. prolific： 多產的，作品豐富的。

8. The Portrait of Dr. Gachet：《加謝醫(yī)生的肖像》，凡·高最著名的作品之一，繪于1890年，當時他已住進精神病院并接受保羅·加謝醫(yī)師的治療。

9. grit： 堅韌，勇氣。

10. navigate： 應對。

11. Stephen Covey： 史蒂芬·科維，美國著名管理學大師，著有《高效能人士的七個習慣》《領導者準則》等。

12. proactive： 積極主動的。

13. late： 已故的。