Measuring success

Is it a good thing that we seem to measure success in terms of money, fame, and prestige? There seems to be an abundance of Hollywood-types, professional athletes, pop stars, CEOs, media moguls, and so on who have all of that. But are they really successful, and are they to be emulated? I don't count many of them among my heroes, anyway.

What would it be like if we measured success in terms of happiness: our own happiness and how much of that spills over into the lives of those who surround us? What if we factored in how close we come to living up to our dreams?

I don't know of any formulas to measure true success. I don't have specific examples or results to present as proof. My path in this world is based more on emotions and feeling than on exact science. But of all the people we read about in news stand magazines or see on television these days, I don't think there's a single one who I would be comfortable holding up to my children as a truly successful person, a model for them to emulate.

Maybe I'm confusing "successful" with "heroic." But I think the definition of success ought to include being a hero to somebody. . . your child, your partner, a friend or colleague, someone. And to be any kind of hero, you should be someone who it is worthwhile to emulate, to hold in high esteem.

The most successful people I know -- the ones I consider successful, anyway -- don't necessarily have a lot of money or assets, they're not well-known outside their tiny sphere of friends and family, but they're happy and true to themselves and live in such a way that is worthwhile to emulate and to hold up as an ideal.