Price of Success Poll
Which ones of the list would you be willing to sacrifice for the sake of being successful? Of course some of the listed choices may be your very definition of successful, but for others, not so much. Your choice.;)
Aren't those choices (in part or in full) THE definition of successful?
Many of the things above would count as success to me. But you can't give up what you don't have!
Pride. I dont mind being humble.
I chose health. Mmm...stress usually comes with success.
I don't view it as having all of those things. I think there is always a price....Sometimes I think the most successful are the people that went through periods of sacrifice. Because, I believe the most successful people, are the people that have good character.
I chose money. Having gobs of money is not my definition of success.
Which is a good thing, because...well, you know. Maybe I'm already more successful than I thought. :)
Besides, who needs money when you've got STUFF? :D
Hmm. I guess money, probably comfort too, though I think I have already sacrificed a fair amount of that to pursue my current goals. Living on less than £15k per annum isn't exactly most people's definition of comfort.
I dunno really. I am not much for sacrificing, because I've never had much to sacrifice :P I don't like sacrificing my time unless it's for something I value. So, I wouldnt be inclined to take a well-paid job that didn't inspire me. My definition of success tends not to be based around money or possessions, but levels of happiness. Oh and academia. But that doesn't really feel like a sacrifice to pursue, not after tromping about the place doing stuff that I hated for years (not counting the literacy teaching, that rocked).
To anybody looking in it probably looks like I am making sacrifices, living on fuck all for years of study. But, i tend to live on fuck all anyway...except now I get to live on fuck all and do interesting stuff.
The idea that I might somehow make it into the world of academia and make a career there thrills me, and is dangerously seductive. I have to keep reminding myself not to daydream about beng a scholar and actually do the damn work :P It's just such a strange and wonderful world, it draws me in.
I have to get better at sacrificing leisure time. *blinks*
I chose comfort, because comfort is simply a temporary feeling of adequacy. I'd rather be "uncomfortable" because lack of comfort is what drives one on to new challenges.
I chose comfort also. I'm willing to forego a little bit of comfort in order to be successful.
I agree with SG about all the rest in that list being part of the way I'd define success. I definitely don't think you'd be successful if you had no family or happiness or honour or health or love in particular.
None of the above.
I can't say that I sacrifice anything for success. Except maybe time, since I do spend quite a bit of it working toward my goals. But I'm always as happy, comfortable, ... as I need to be.
Because, I believe the most successful people, are the people that have good character.
So you don't think most CEOs are successful? :haha:
If I had everything on that list, I would decline your kind offer of "success". Cause if I've got everything on that list, what exactly is it you are offering? What is this "success" you speak of, that is exclusive of the items on the list?
I think the question is more like, "Which of these would not be strictly necessary for you to still feel successful?"
my son and I both said reputation. money can buy you anything.
Pride is the easist and least painful to give up because it is one of the few choices that does not affect the people around you, the ones closest to you.
Honor might be a second close to that, but I could not sacrifice that.
Pride and reputation.
"Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the bastards." --Aral Vorkosigan.
I guess if forced to choose, I would say pride also. The thing is that there's a difference between pride and arrogance. There's nothing wrong with being proud of your achievements or your family, for example. Really, if I had all those things on the list, I would consider myself successful, no matter what the world might say.
Well - may sound like a dumb answer but I do not think that sacrificing any of the above would lead to success. I guess I would need the meaning of success defined. I consider myself successful in what I do and while I do not make a million a year I do not need that for me to be successful. Maybe a better question would be what would you be willing to sacrifice to be happy.
Following the footsteps of many who either made the choice with their better brains and hearts, or had the choice forced upon them, I chose 'money'.
Maybe a better question would be what would you be willing to sacrifice to be happy.
Ah now that's more up my street.
Replace Happiness with Success in the poll.
For happiness I would sacrifice:
Success
Comfort
Pride
Money
What I would not sacrifice:
Reputation - no. I worry too much about what other people think, and it would eat at my happiness if I was thought to be something I'm not, or despised for who I am.
Honour - no. It's a slightly outdated concept, but I have a baseline of how I expect myself to behave and couldn't be happy if I'd crossed it.
Health - be careful what you wish for. If I knew the terms, then maybe. Ten years of happiness and then death would be fine. A long lingering illness that affected my family would not.
Love - never. I wouldn't give up love for success, for happiness, for money. I'd rather love and be loved than anything else on earth.
I guess I would need the meaning of success defined.
That's the point. I think everyone would like to have all the things on the list. You (everyone) have to define what success is to you. Then decide what is necessary to achieve it, and what is not.
happiness = success.
i'll still sacrifice comfort to achieve it.
For success and happiness I need love and friendship. I need to know where my next meal is coming from and that I can pay my rent and other necessities. I need to be able to work hard at something that benefits someone in some way and I need someone to notice from time to time. I need a bit of time every day to exercise.
I don't need a large home. I don't need a lot of friends. I don't need a lot of appreciation or money. I don't need to be doing something noble to feel proud and content. More is not always better. I'm happy with what I have and if I get a little more, I'll be happy with that too.
I'm calling shenanigans on the large number of people who voted "money." Every one of them was thinking, "Yeah, I don't need to be
rich," and we all know that everyone's definition of rich is "someone who makes more than I do."
I need to know where my next meal is coming from and that I can pay my rent and other necessities.
Not picking on you with the quote Perry, you just happened to sum up exactly what I think all those others were thinking to themselves. IMHO the above means you're not actually "giving up" money--by comparison, how many people thought giving up love would mean being completely bereft of any love in their lives? No one looked at the "love" choice and said, "Well, I need to know that there are a couple people out there who care for me, just enough to keep me from being suicidal, but beyond that I don't need a
lot of love so I'll check that box."
In the end, I don't think very many people who voted would consider themselves "successful" if they were completely and totally dirt poor.
What is money for though? It's for buying things. Why do you have things? For comfort. If you give up money, but retain comfort, it means that you have somebody taking care of your comfort. Kind of like a kid. So I'd give up money if my comfort was still being taken care of in some magic way.
When I was considering happiness rather than success, I realised I could give up comfort. Probably not forever, but could I live the life of a Settler for example, and be happy if the other aspects were there (pride, honor, love etc)
And yes, I can live on the bare minimum of money if I'm happy. I'm not far off now. And after all we must be talking bare minimum, as health is a separate question. In fact I could even perceive success rather than happiness without financial reward. A critically acclaimed poet or film-maker for example.
What is money for though? It's for buying things. Why do you have things? For comfort. If you give up money, but retain comfort, it means that you have somebody taking care of your comfort.
Not necessarily. Comfort is fluid. It's different for different people, and changes for each person over time. I can be comfortable with very little, as long as I'm not terrified that I won't be able to afford clean and safe food and shelter. Other's aren't comfortable unless they can eat out a lot, have a certain level of car, a large home, and are seen as having a certain social status.
Also, the poll says "sacrifice" not "do without completely." I don't think anyone is saying they'd give up all of any of those things for success. However, I might invest some of my savings to try starting my own business, in the hopes of achieving greater success. That amount of money might be little enough that it doesn't qualitatively effect my comfort. This would count as sacrificing money, in the short term.
What I would not sacrifice:
Reputation - no. I worry too much about what other people think, and it would eat at my happiness if I was thought to be something I'm not, or despised for who I am.
What makes this so easy for me is that I already know I'm despised. It's very freeing!
I wouldn't give up my small pleasures...
Who cares if straightlaces
Sneer at us in the street?
Fine airs and fine graces
Don't have to sin to eat...
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When I think about giving up comfort I think of giving up all the mod cons and going back to nature. Camping without a toilet and shower etc.
I am still happy and could live like that forever if I had to, but it's not as comfortable as sitting on the couch with a hot drink on a cold night.
I would sacrifice my comfort first, and then my happiness. The thing is, we all make these sacrifices every day. Those two things, of all of the ones listed are temporary situations.
I would not sacrifice pride, honor, love or reputation. once you lose them, they are gone. Health and money can be recovered.
Trust me, pride, honour and reputation can be restored. Just ask David Beckham rather than OJ Simpson.
[COLOR="White"](Becks was hanged in effigy in this country at one point)[/COLOR]
Health and money can be recovered.
I would have to strongly disagree with that statement.
Health can often not be recovered.
Money, depends on your situation. Many people are but a catastrophic illness away from homelessness.
I'm with Merc on that one.