Irony is so ironic

[GoldenBear]

In order to become "successful" in the typical American definition, you have to work hard your entire life in order to succeed, and always keep it among your highest priorities, whether it be in school or in the work place.

However, to become a "failure" in life you don't have to live your entire life like that, but rather it only takes one simple mistake, which could just be a spur of the moment thing, which could be caused by one night of too much drinking or taking a small dosage of drugs.

On the contrary, it is just about impossible to become an "overnight success", and it can only be something achieved through a life time.

Anyone else find it a bit odd on how the world works in regards to this; how it takes a lifetime to be a success, but only a second to be a failure?

 

[Russ]

Your premise is faulty because you are mixing a short-term concept with a long-term concept. The overwhelming majority of truely successful people have had plenty of "failures" along the way.

The true measure of achievement is not whether one has ever failed, but rather how one reacts to that failure.

Russ, NCNE

 

[Sluggo]

<< The overwhelming majority of truely successful people have had plenty of &quot;failures&quot; along the way. >>



Very true.

There are thousands of stories of people who have been beaten down, yet refuse to accept failure.

 

[GoldenBear]

<< Your premise is faulty because you are mixing a short-term concept with a long-term concept. The overwhelming majority of truely successful people have had plenty of &quot;failures&quot; along the way.

The true measure of achievement is not whether one has ever failed, but rather how one reacts to that failure.

Russ, NCNE >>

Well to those less ambitious, one mistake could've prevented an otherwise life of success.

On the very extreme side, an otherwise promising person could easily get really drunk one night, go driving one night and never recover, as a result could be fatal injury or even fatality.

Becoming a parent at a young age could also easily hamper one's future, and it often doesn't take more than a few drinks one night for that to happen. One night could result in a 20+ year commitment most aren't ready to accept.

Of course there will always be those with the ambition to overcome anything, but there are also those with great ambition, but not to the extreme to overcome a short term mistake, that does overcome their life time achievments.

 

[TheAvenger]

your posts are like blonds, attractive on the outside but on the inside they lack, well, everything.

 

[PistachioByAzul]

Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising everytime we fall

-- Confucious

 

[Russ]

<< Well to those less ambitious, one mistake could've prevented an otherwise life of success. >>



Since you stated thus:



<< In order to become &quot;successful&quot; in the typical American definition, you have to work hard your entire life in order to succeed, and always keep it among your highest priorities >>



The issue of &quot;ambition&quot; was already addressed. Your premise is that one must possess this characteristic to be successful. Thus, a less ambitious person is not even part of the equation.

Short of a mistake that results in death, there is little or nothing that cannot be overcome with the necessary determination.

As I said, your premise is faulty.

Russ, NCNE

 

[EvanFerguson]

yeah, not well written imo

 

[GasX]

There is a little story about Abraham Lincoln about how he ran for office and lost about five times and started several failed businesses and eventually went on to become president.

The great depression saw many succesful people go from succesful to broke in one day.

The recent internet phenomenon made multi millionaires of recent college grads with no original ideas and not a hard days work under their belts...

What was your point again?

 

[GoldenBear]

My point is, a person who is destined to lead a successful life could have it all taken away in an instant, thereby making all his achievments from that point on useless.

I'm not even referring to the millionaires or successful entrepeneurs out there, just a normal person who got slightly above average grades in school, working a good job, and who knows, if a fire were to break out in their house, they would be left out on the streets.

However, nothing as simple as the fire could've earned him the job and decent life he was living, but only the 20+ years of working to achieve it could have.

 

[Russ]

<< My point is, a person who is destined to lead a successful life >>



Another faulty premise. Nobody is &quot;destined&quot; to do anything at all. In the long term, which is what success is founded upon, we, the individual, determine the direction and the path.

Russ, NCNE

 

[EvanFerguson]

no one is destined unless you believe in fate and destiny and predetermined events.......


and, of course, we will never know the answer

 

[GasX]

I think I see where you are going now.

Yes, life is hard and sometimes a moment change change everything. Sometimes that moment can be for better OR worse.

How about a guy who works in a coal mine his whole life and has nothing. One day he buys a lottery ticket and wins $2000 a week for life. Woohoo! The he gets hit by a car as he crosses the street. Doh!

THAT would suck.

 

[GasX]

<lightbulb!>

Let's go back to the Lincoln example. After all his persistance had paid off and he had become president, he took a double tap to the head and it was sayonara sunshine!

Nobody ever said life was fair...

 

[EvanFerguson]

of course life isn't fair

 

[GoldenBear]

By destined, I don't mean by fate, but on their own.

For example Anand himself is destined to live a good life, at least for the next couple of years.

Webster's defines &quot;destiny&quot; as an &quot;a seemingly inevitable succesion of events&quot;. &quot;Inevitable&quot; itself is a very ambiguous word, but I see it as something that is BOUND to happen as a RESULT of something else. By going to a decent college and working hard, it is &quot;seemingly inevitable&quot; that success will come if the person keeps up his hard work..

However the definition is meaningless, even though it is the only part you chose to respond to.

But minute vocabulary mistake aside, it's hard to disagree that it's a MUCH simpler process to fall off Mt. Everest than it is to climb it. Is that metaphor clear now?

 

[Schlocemus]

This discussion is over opinions, both of you are correct.

&quot;Destiny&quot; is a matter of opinion...

 

[GoldenBear]

<< This discussion is over opinions, both of you are correct.

&quot;Destiny&quot; is a matter of opinion... >>

If I were to cuss and break the word filter, this thread will DESTINED to be locked, and I don't think it will be the result of fate, despite the Mod's God-like powers.