[Closed] Define 'successful'

The size of your penis compensator on the drive and how big you can inflate the missus bazookas....

Or on a more serious note I'd say having enough good friends, being respected and appreciated and being able to smile more than frown.

When Farmer Hoggett looks at you and says....

"That'll do, Pig"

At "the end" we are all as succesful as each other - it is a great leveller.

I'd take a punt at two things - having had a fulfilling/happy life and helped others achieve the same.

That and the number of bikes you own (7)

One who is content.

Consistently getting 100+ 'Likes' to your bragging posts on Facebook?

Me, just look at Me.

Failing that..

You, just look at You.

HTHs.

Success is only measurable up against the expectations of the person being analysed.

One person's success may be anothers hell.

Equally another person may feel they have failed against their own expectation but look to be on top of the world compared to their own life.

How ever as I have learnt over the years no one ever tells you the whole story and things are not always as they seem so don't measure your success against others lives.

Simple. It's how happy you are.

He who dies with the most kit wins.

Edit: written in bed.

[s]Getting out of bed before 10 o'clock[/s] Not having to get out of bed before 10 o'clock.

When you can wear tasteless shoes in business class.

Getting out of bed before 10 o'clock even though you don't have to.

True success.

Owning your very own power kite.

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Having control of your life, being able to make decisions about employment and lifestyle rather than having them forced on you.

Suck Cess.

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"Successful" requires three seperate things to happen :

- Set goals that are sufficiently ambitious;
- Achieve those goals;
- Repeat.

Just achieving goals isn't success, as that view can encourage settling for less by not aiming high enough, and a single success isn't being "successful"

I own multiple hats 🙂

Owning your very own power kite.

To be truly successful one must bestow the gift of power kiting upon another.

Simple. It's how happy you are.

Too limited in my opinion, if I was on my deathbed examining my life I'd feel I shortchanged myself if I summed up my life as 'happy'.

From another, wider, perspective, having offspring is the marker of a successful life.

But what truly makes you successful, in the end?

Harvesting ideas off the internet, finishing your assignment early and heading out for a ride. 🙂

We have a winner.

Simple. It's how happy you are.

Too limited in my opinion, if I was on my deathbed examining my life I'd feel I shortchanged myself if I summed up my life as 'happy'.

As a summary, I'd be more than pleased with 'Happy'.

From another, wider, perspective, having offspring is the marker of a successful life.

Really? What if that offspring is a mass murderer, serial killer, or next Hitler. Just saying.

Could you face this guy and not get wiped from existance?
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INQUISITOR: You have been granted the greatest gift of all: the gift of life. Tell me, what you have done to deserve this superlative good fortune?
RIMMER: Well, I say this with the highest respect, but what gives you the right to ask -- no, actually -- demand that answer of me, Your Magnificence? (He curtsies and bows.)
INQUISITOR: All must answer to the Inquisitor!
RIMMER: But how do I know I'll get a fair hearing?
INQUISITOR: Because, like all who stand before the Inquisitor, your judge

shall be...

The INQUISITOR lifts his facemask to reveal... RIMMER's face.

INQUISITOR: ...yourself!
RIMMER: Oh smeg!

if happiness = success then this

The meaning of life, is to have meaning in your life.

one must bestow the gift of power kiting upon another.

Help me! What started this power kite business?! 😀

I'm with orangespyderman I think - success is at least somewhat objective. You can't just declare that you've been successful because you've been happy. I am not successful. I'm not happy either, but I'm busily giving up on being successful to try and become happier. 🙂

Set your standards low.

Setting your goals lower than your achievements 🙂

crushing your enemies driving them before you and hearing the lamentation of their women.

As John Candy said in Cool Runnings:

"If you not enough without a gold medal, you'll never be enough with one."

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when Alec Baldwin parodies you
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My power kite is bigger than yours

*sits back, looking smug*

Trailrat +1
One mans success will be another mans hell
Don't worry about it, just be happy.
Money definitely doesn't mean success in my book, but it obviously does to some folks.

Not wasting the best part of your life working to buy meaningless crap. Having fun and joyful experience with friends and loved ones. Also Getting to ride my bike 3 times a week counts as a mini success.

Reading a dictionary. That, and owning your own shoes.

*Edit, Really, 'success' 'at the end' is subjective. Unless you view life purely in sporting terms. You always die. Whatever came before can only be measured by those who knew of you, and either saw or experienced your achievements.

Did you leave the planet a better place? People's live better for having you in them?

Whoever has the happiest life.

I don't do success. I just achieve a level of satisfaction that I haven't screwed everything up.

Money, house, job, family or whatever, meh. Unless someone proves to me that's the actual goal in life, it makes crap all difference. Just going to end up rotting in a hole anyway.

Also from same episode of Red Dwarf:

Rimmer: Why did no-one mention this before? If I had been told about this at the start, that the object was to lead a worthwhile life, I could have done something about it. All those charity telethons when I used ring in and pledge donations — if I had known all this, I would have given them *my* credit card number.

I personally go by time doing the things I like to do vs the time and effort spent to enable me to do them. The more of the former and less of the later equals more success.

When 'Watch This' isn't followed by injury

I would definitely struggle to answer this question at this stage in my life.

I 'know' I am successful because I 'feel' successful. I have everything a person could possibly want... indeed, I have everything I had ever dreamed of having when I was young and thinking about adulthood.

But regardless, on a day to day basis, I mostly just feel content.

boils down to three basic things for me - being content, comfortable and happy

Not spending your life posting on MTB forums.

Making it through a whole day without someone looking at me with that special mixture of pity and contempt?

It's a great question Op and it's one I've actually been considering recently. I hate that when cycling alone my subconscious decides to bombard me with reminders of times when my behaviour has been less than exemplary. I have actually considered writing a 'my name is earl' type list because yes there are times where I've behaved badly but I tend to block out the times where I've acted selflessly. Somehow in your mind the bad times severly outweigh the good.

With apologies for my lack of video posting skill,
[url=

binners - Member
Making it through a whole day without someone looking at me with that special mixture of pity and contempt?

Sitting on the loo without holding having to hold on ?

Succesful at what?

Making it through a whole day without someone looking at me with that special mixture of pity and contempt?

We regret to inform you that your day has been unsuccessful. 😉

One day PP..... one day......

There was once a businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small Brazilian village.
As he sat, he saw a Brazilian fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore having caught quite few big fish.
The businessman was impressed and asked the fisherman, “How long does it take you to catch so many fish?”
The fisherman replied, “Oh, just a short while.”
“Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and catch even more?” The businessman was astonished.
“This is enough to feed my whole family,” the fisherman said.
The businessman then asked, “So, what do you do for the rest of the day?”
The fisherman replied, “Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and catch a few fish, then go back and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I take a nap with my wife, and evening comes, I join my buddies in the village for a drink — we play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night.”

The businessman offered a suggestion to the fisherman.
“I am a PhD in business management. I could help you to become a more successful person. From now on, you should spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fish as possible. When you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fish. Soon you will be able to afford to buy more boats, set up your own company, your own production plant for canned food and distribution network. By then, you will have moved out of this village and to Sao Paulo, where you can set up HQ to manage your other branches.”

The fisherman continues, “And after that?”
The businessman laughs heartily, “After that, you can live like a king in your own house, and when the time is right, you can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange, and you will be rich.”
The fisherman asks, “And after that?”
The businessman says, “After that, you can finally retire, you can move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning, catch a few fish, then return home to play with kids, have a nice afternoon nap with your wife, and when evening comes, you can join your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance throughout the night!”
The fisherman was puzzled, “Isn’t that what I am doing now?”

There is no one definition. Different people see it and measure it differently. So success is in the hands of the individual.

What if you're in prison?

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What if you're in prison?

Depends. Are you Grouty?

There is no one definition. Different people see it and measure it differently.

I know. And I'm struggling to square what i would define as success with meeting others perceptions of success - which is starting among other things to become obvious as one of the causes of my problems, too reliant on the approval of others vs being happy with myself.

Yet (most) people on here have the 'same' definition broadly as i do, so who are we finally trying to impress? The people we're most jealous of are those that have found their own happiness, not the wage slaves, no matter how big their houses or toys.

I'm happy. Mainly as I'm a simpleton, Therefore the path to true success lies in stupidity

I should set myself up as a life coach really....

Good one, tiggs121. 8)

I should set myself up as a life couch really....

Doing well so fa.

Quality of relationships, expression through creativity and the gathering of shiny things, surely?

Being happy and fulfilled.

Money/possessions are not ends in themselves but can obviously help with these, the trick is in the compromises you make to get them.

having your post copied by other forumites. Though that might be a failure to be noticed! 😕 😳

binners - Member
I'm happy. Mainly as I'm a simpleton, Therefore the path to true success lies in stupidity

INQUISITOR: I have to ask you the question: justify your existence -- what contribution have you made?
CAT: I have given pleasure to the world because I have such a beautiful ass!
INQUISITOR: Well, that's true.
CAT: Can I go now?
INQUISITOR: That's your case?!
CAT: You need more?
INQUISITOR: Some might say that's a pretty shallow argument.
CAT: Some might say I'm a pretty shallow guy. But a shallow guy with a great ass!
INQUISITOR: Sometimes you astonish even me!
CAT: Thank you!