"Purposeful effort comes to mean, primarily, effort directed to, or resulting in, a more creditable showing of accumulated wealth."
When I look at the quote above, I can not help but see the truth and the fallacy within it. Obviously, anyone with accumulated wealth has put out a lot of effort in order to achieve the lifestyle they enjoy (with perhaps the exception of one who inherits their wealth, although they will still need to put in the effort in order to maintain that lifestyle). The problem is when we attribute wealth to success, and when we state that to be counted as a successful human being, you must have wealth in order to prove it. There is no doubt that wealth mean success, success in business, success in trade, in management. However, is that our only standard? Should we count each penny in order to prove our worthiness to those around us?
This may be an unusual thought, or it may be the popular thought now, but in my mind, success constitutes so much more. Success surrounds the entirety of one's life, career, relationships, and values. If there is a man with a hundred million dollars and yet is completely alone and dissatisfied, has he had a more successful life than the pauper on the street who is in a loving marriage relationship and has a adoring family? In my opinion, success is happiness. Success is an inward contentment and pleasure in who you are, what you have done, and who you have in your life. It is the acknowledgement that being the best is not always the goal, and being comfortable with your life does not mean that it is a life worth living.
When people are led to believe that wealth is all that matters, they will spend their time looting and pillaging in order to obtain what they think will lead to happiness. In so doing, they will neglect all of the opportunities that come before them, forsaking relationships with family, friends, and God - and relationships, they are what truly gets one through this world. Yes, food and water is essential, one can live without a house, car, or cell phone, but relationships are unbelievably important in the development of character, values, and a life worth living. Especially, a relationship with a personal, intimate, Creator and Sustainer God who died for you, and would die again in a heart beat, if it meant humanity would return to Him.
Success sounds wonderful. Everyone wants to be successful in whatever task they set before themselves. But a successful NBA player will earn far more than a successful college professor. So who has achieved real success? Wealth does not matter, not that it is bad, but it is not the answer to all of life's greatest questions. It makes things easier, more comfortable, possibly even more exciting, but it is not essential in order to be a happy and successful human being. To be filling the world's mind with that notion is doing humanity a great disservice, it is dashing children's dreams of happiness and discouraging adults who have struggled their whole and are still making ends-meat. The problem is that this is not a new trend. Superstars and Supermodels are not new to our contemporary world. From the beginning of civilization there has been a form of "wealth," the idea that "you NEED this to be happy." The question is how do we overthrow this terrible preconception? Is there a way to convince the world that they can be happy in the exact conditions they live in? Probably not. However, I believe that not matter how low, how miserable anyone may feel, there is always someone worse off, and therefore there is not a soul on earth who can lament their present condition. Life is what you make it. It is all about your attitude. Go and be successful in ALL that you do, no matter how seemingly meaningless it may be.
