The Secret Of Success
Longing and desire is a natural human quality of every man and everybody tries to reach what he wants in all possible ways. Some long for a good job in the bank, some for a big house, some for a wife more attractive than those of his friends.
Every man who wants to reach his goal and be successful in his effort takes it for granted that once he reached his goal, he will be happy. But it is not always like that.
Old folk wisdom says that the aim does not matter, but the way to it. So the highest goal is not the goal itself, but the way to it. In other words, it lies just in the moments when we feel that we are getting closer to it and when we are about to reach it, not when we have already reached it (although sometimes even after the goal has been reached).
As an example, let us have a look at a man who wants to gain love of a beautiful woman whom he would like to marry and start a family with. He might succeed. The woman will fall in love with him, they will go out together, enjoy each other and experience a lot of beautiful moments. After some time they will get married and their problems will start. They will have children who might cause problems, they will have health problems and suddenly he will find out that his love for his wife is not that strong any more as it used to be when he “only” dated her.
From the philosophical point of view we should choose as the goal of our effort such an aim that requires a long and enjoyable way before it is reached, and which enable us our joy as long as possible even after it is reached.
Every man should ponder in advance what will happen when he reached his goal successfully. What to expect next? How to live after that?
Old philosophical wisdom says that the most reasonable goal for a man is to live reasonably and healthy, do good deeds for other people and be useful for them. And to do it so that one feels pleased and satisfied with this way of life.
For example somebody’s dream is to master a foreign language. If he manages, he reached his aim. And if he writes a textbook of this language in which he excels and if he translates some useful literature, e.g. about health or natural sciences, then he does a lot of useful things. And through reaching this goal he satisfies not only himself but also other people. And that is what matters in life. To be not only successful, but also useful. That is the secret of success.
There is one old Asian saying that says: “As soon as a man builds up a house, he will die.” Of course this cannot be taken literally, but rather symbolically. Its inner meaning is to stress the fact that man can become unlucky shortly after reaching his goal. It can be expressed rather poetically in the following epic:
“Doomed is the painter who finishes his last painting. Doomed is the runner who finished his last kilometer. And doomed is the archer who shot his last arrow; doomed is that who laughed and is laughing for the last time. Doomed is he who kissed and kisses for the last time. Doomed is the writer who writes on the last sheet of paper.
Blessed is the painter, who paints his first picture. Blessed is the runner who has just run his first kilometer. Blessed is the archer who has just shot his first arrow; blessed is he who is to laugh and is laughing for the first time. Blessed is he who is to kiss and is kissing for the first time. Blessed is the writer who has just written his first sheet of paper.
Blessed is the Sun whose first rays lit the darkness of the night and will shine all day long. Doomed is the Sun, whose last rays lit the approaching darkness of the night and it swallowed them, and will now reign all night long.
Blessed is the aim lying in an infinite distance in front of those who follow it. They will be able to laugh and their breath will be light. Doomed are those who reached their aim and have everything they wanted. They will weep and their breath will be very heavy."