References

experienceproject.com. ( n.d.).Most Popular Goals. Retrieved Sep 27, 2012, from http://www.experienceproject.com/goals.php

 
forbes.com. ( n.d.).The World's Billionaires. Retrieved Sep 25, 2012, from http://www.forbes.com/billionaires/list/
 

Gray, P. (2010).Humans are Social Animals. Retrieved Sep 25, 2012, from http://www.aipmm.com/anthropology/2010/05/humans-are-social-animals-1.php
 

Hilzenrath, D.S. (2011).Raj Rajaratnam, hedge fund billionaire, gets 11-year sentence for insider trading. Retrieved Sep 25, 2012, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/hedge-fund-billionaire-gets-11-year-sentence-in-fraud-case/2011/10/13/gIQAa0PZhL_story.html

 

InTo Leader. (2012).Success is not Measured by Money Alone. Retrieved Sep 27, 2012, from http://intoleadership.com/?p=19

 

Little, L. (2011).Miseries of the Rich and Famous. Retrieved Sep 27, 2012, from http://abcnews.go.com/Business/concerns-super-rich-wealth-bring-happiness/story?id=13167578

 

Liukkonen, P. (2008).Izaak Walton (1593 - 1683). Retrieved Sep 27, 2012, from http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/iwalton.htm

 

Mukherjee, A. (2008).11 Useful Tips On Setting Goals And Achieving Them.Retrieved Sep 27, 2012, from http://www.dumblittleman.com/2009/02/11-useful-tips-on-setting-goals-and.html

 
Rohrer, F. (2010).Does winning the lottery make you happy?. Retrieved Sep 25, 2012, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8517946.stm

 
Simon, M. (2010).Police: Remains buried under driveway are of lottery winner. Retrieved Sep 26, 2012, from http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/01/29/florida.missing.lotto.winner/index.html

Conclusion

Success in life does NOT mean money.
Money is only one factor and although it supports others areas of life, money alone cannot determine success in life. Each aspect of life such as financial, health and relationships all need to be satisfied in a balanced way to be successful. Life does not have one purpose and one meaning to it. Succeeding in one area of life does not mean overall success, money is only one area therefore it does not mean the success of life.

Does money bring happiness?

If money determined success, then the more you have means the happier you are with life. I disagree with this idea and have many examples to back up my opinion.

Firstly, let’s look at lottery winners. Many people dream to win the lottery and if they win all their problems will be gone and they can live happily ever after but winning the lottery is not always so positive. Surveys show that people are mostly satisfied with this sudden wealth but it comes with negative issues as well. When people first receive the money, they are overwhelmed and cannot think straight therefore make mistakes in their decisions. Apart from personal problem dealing with the money, many winners are faced to deal with falling out with family members or friends who are jealous and are after their money. An extreme example is Abraham Shakespeare, he was murdered after winning the lottery. These people have been awarded great sums of money they had previously not had but money can bring unhappiness to those who are already rich. Raj Rajaratnam was convicted for insider trading. Although he had enough money to live on, his greed took over and he ended up committing crimes to make more money.

Money exists for us to consume but when someone is blinded by it they are no longer in control and money no longer brings happiness, it brings misfortune.

Different people, different standards

Every individual has a different standard of achievement to consider themselves as successful.
We often look at one another to measure how successful we are in our own lives. But success is different for each individual person. For one person, becoming a billionaire may be their goal while for others being able to provide food and shelter may be their goal.
People set different goal for themselves, so just because someone has less money than you it doesn’t mean they are less successful; they may have already achieved their goal. Since there is no universal set standard amount a person must make to be successful, money cannot define success. The amount can differ for each individual but for some money may not even be a part of their standards they regard as success. Each person will have a different approach to measure success.
I personally do not measure success by having the latest model phone, the size of the house I live in or the amount of money in my bank but measure by the number of people that I helped and the happiness I feel from making others smile. It is achieving the goals I set everyday and realizing that everything was achieved successfully before the day ends.

Money doesn’t define success

The success of a person’s life should not be measured by how much money they have. There are other factors such as relationships, health and happiness.

 

Since people are social beings we need to interact with others. We need the love and support from our family and friends to share our joy with or to lean on during hard times in life. Would it be a meaningful life if somebody spent all their time making money instead of enjoying time with loved ones? Or if a person had nobody there to love them but only had lots of money could this person be seen as a successful person?
 

To enjoy life at its fullest we must also be healthy. Izaak Walton said health is “a blessing that money cannot buy” therefore it is more important than money. No one would be considered successful in life if they made lots of money but died before having the chance to spend it.

 

Success should also be determined by our emotions. If a person is wealthy but does not feel satisfied with their life they are not successful. If a person is unhappy about their life it doesn’t matter how much money they have, they haven’t succeeded. It is not up to others to judge a person’s life with the amount of money they have but up to each individual to determine their own success in life with how they feel about it.

Ten links

1. http://www.notsalmon.com/archive/2007_06_03_archive.html

In this article the writer has given different ways to happiness such as spending time with family or doing volunteer work because happiness does not come from making money.

2. http://blogs.hbr.org/taylor/2011/05/money_and_the_meaning_of_life.html
 

This article provides examples of people that had enough money but were blinded by it which made them full of greed and eventually lose what they already had. It warns us to deal with money carefully and with a clear mind, with back up evidence from Jacob Needleman’s book Money and the Meaning of Life.

3.  http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Makes-Someone-a-Success-in-Life&id=3592280
 

According to this article people must fulfil various aspects of life in order to be successful overall. The article also describes the effects money has on achieving this.

4.  http://ezinearticles.com/?Success-Means-More-Than-Just-Having-Money&id=1201711
 

This is another article which defines success in life is to achieve satisfaction in each area of a person’s life. Having lots of money is financial success but this is only a part of the overall success in life. The writer also explains that success is defined differently for each individual.

5.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8517946.stm
 

This article is written based on a study done on people who have won the lottery. The results show that for most winners it does not bring them happiness because with the sudden huge amount of money they cannot think straight therefore they make wrong decisions in life. They also feel unhappy due to the effects that money has on their relationships.

6.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17690085

This article is about a child who lives in the streets of Pakistan. Although he lives on the street making only a little bit of money he is still happy with life.
 

7.  http://www.mywaystosuccess.com/a-successful-life-is-not-defined-money
 

Success should be determined by how you feel, happy or unhappy, not by how much money you make. It should be measure by the amount of gaols you have achieved, quality of friends and family and how good you feel about yourself. Money is good to have because it relieves you from the stress of worrying about financial issues but money alone will not give you happiness or success in life.
 

8.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/mar/07/society.politicalcolumnists?INTCMP=SRCH

9.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14341703

10.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jun/24/meaning-of-success-happiness?INTCMP=SRCH

Intro

Success in life means money?

A successful life is when you have achieved what you wanted and are able to live the way you want. Money is important in life but having money doesn't always mean being successful. Those people who have lots of money but are not able to live the way they want are not successful. Life is not about working day and night and earning money. If you don't have time for your family, for your friends, for yourself, and for life, what is the meaning of having money? There is much more to life than being rich.