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A while back, I was watching a Warren Buffett interview with Tom Brokaw, and he said something during the course of his interview that is worth thinking about. Now I never met the man (Buffett that is), but I have been in awe of him for a long time now. Not because he has loads of money, but the fact that he does and doesn’t let it define him. He sees finance as a means to an end, and not the end itself. Making money is pleasurable to him, just like playing basketball is more fun to others who don’t necessarily have NBA aspirations. As such, anyone who shares the same characteristic can just as likely navigate away from the curse that makes the love of money, the root of all evil. But I digress…
He made a statement, and I paraphrase somewhat – “[Some people say that] success is getting what you want, and happiness is wanting what you get”. It makes perfect sense, right? That is actually a quote by Dale Carnegie, a deceased writer and lecturer on topics such as self-improvement and public speaking.
In the same week, I read an email from an acquaintance that sends periodic mails to those of us on his mailing list. He found an article on the internet that had what may be called an inspirational story. I don’t know the internet source and therefore cannot reference it, but the text is, appended below:
A wealthy businessman was shocked to see a fisherman sitting beside his boat, playing with a small child. So the businessman asked, “Why aren’t you out fishing?” The fisherman replied, “Because I’ve caught enough fish for one day.” “Why don’t you catch some more?” the businessman further inquired.
“What would I do with them?” asked the fisherman. “You could earn more money,” said the businessman. “Then with the extra money, you could buy a bigger boat, go into deeper waters, and catch more fish. Then you would make enough money to buy nylon nets. With the nets, you could catch even more fish and make more money. With that money you could own two boats, maybe three boats. Eventually you could have a whole fleet of boats and be rich like me.”
“Then what would I do?” replied the fisherman. “Then you could really enjoy life,” answered the businessman. The fisherman looked at the businessman quizzically and asked, “What do you think I’m doing now?”
(Internet Source Unknown)
As we all probably know, the world consists of those who are driven by success and wealth, and those that are more concerned about happiness than success. Furthermore, there are others (just like the businessman in the short story example) that believe that only when they find success, can they can find happiness. They cannot foresee that one doesn’t automatically follow the other. Obviously, the best situation is a nice mix of both, but in the absence of a nice balance which would you choose?
People are different, and people make different choices everyday. Pursuing success by virtue of happiness is a lot more fulfilling than pursuing happiness by virtue of success. Without knowing all things, I presume that widely recognized icons who are successful and happy are only that because in understanding through knowledge, they pursue both in concert.
A Person’s Personality
The type of personality that motivates people who turn out to be quite successful is very necessary in this world. Those minds provide advancements and motivations that improve the current state of affairs, which in turn could provide amenities and services that make life easier. People from the happiness camp, may typically have the personality that isn’t gung-ho-I-need- achieve-this-now-to-prove-my-relevance. Based on this, we can then have the “family man” and the “business man” (“man” implies men or women) personalities.
The family man says, “No matter what happens I have to leave work latest 6 o’clock so I can go home and be with my family because that’s where the true joy is – the world is not coming to an end, business will continue tomorrow.” The business man, would probably say, “Whatever it takes for me to push this out the door, I’m willing to sacrifice – everything else will be there when I’m finally done, and my contribution will be recognized or maybe establish a legacy for me.” Once again, a nice balance is the optimal approach, but in the absence of that, if you had to choose one, which do you choose?
Share your thoughts below.
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2 Responses to “Happiness Or Success”
By The Gem on Feb 4, 2009 | Reply
I have actually thought a lot about this over the years..trying to figure out how to shape my life. What’s more important – Success or happiness? and better yet, who defines success? me or the world?
I would choose happiness – which would hopefully encompass MY view of success, whatever that happens to be – be it a family or a job or whatever.
It’s pointless to be “successful” and unhappy in my opinion.
By AdmirerGQ on Feb 17, 2009 | Reply
For me, I say it can’t be either or. I think they both goes hand in hand. Like how the article talks about balance. And as we all know, with everything balance must exist. But since the question is asked, “which one do you choose?” putting balance aside, I will have to go with my happiness. I think The Gem said it best with the questions, who defines success? Success to most people is what the world sees them as. Even though there’s always an exception to the rules, we see those who allow the world to define their success everyday. Like those that gets the car before the house. Those that will settle for anyone, just to say I’m marry.
I had a friend in High school who when asked by the teacher what did she wanted to be, her answer was a lawyer. Her reason, because they make a lot of money. During one of my stress moment with classes in undergrad as a Computer Science major, a friend of mine asked me why don’t I become a pastor. Her reason, they make a lot of money. If the mind set of these two individuals is still the same, than I guess it is safe to say which one they would choose.