I think one of the great misconceptions of my generation is, “I can, just like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs*, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, or Shawn Fanning, make a quick million young and just live easy for the rest of my life. Hey, it’s the American Dream!”
Now, this is my own opinion, but I think many of us forget that success is no more than hard work. All of these people, now rich and famous, livin’ in the lap of luxury, they worked hard, long hours to achieve what they did. And once they were made, the work did not stop.
I do not believe that most of us will “make it.” We will work hard our entire lives, and we might become millionaires by saving and investing wisely, but we won’t live the extravagant lives that those guys do. We can, however, achieve success and financial security through hard work and focus, not that I believe money and success alone can make us truly happy. For me–and it is different for each of us–true happiness comes from my true friends and family, from taking some time for myself and personal growth every day, from focusing on and working towards achieving the goals I have set for myself.
5 Quotes on Success, a.k.a. Hard Work
A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man; it is what he wants and must have to be good for anything. Hardship and opposition are the native soil of manhood and self-reliance. John Neal
The important thing is not to stop questioning. Albert Einstein
A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds. Sir Francis Bacon
Lack of money is no obstacle. Lack of an idea is an obstacle. Ken Hakuta
Great ideas originate in the muscles. [link]
I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work. [link]
Thomas A. Edison
Question of the Day
I just pontificated about success, hard work and happiness. How do you think the three are related?
Bonus Question
Have you voted in my Dr. Pepper poll yet? Take a second and make your prediction: How long will my current stash of Dr. Peppers last?
Notes
* Wait, is Steve Jobs still alive? But I coulda swore that I read his obituary!
**Apparently, The Quotations Page forgot to pay their hosting bill. I’m really hoping that the site go live again, because along with the quotes I had stored in Google Notebook and Diigo, I had a lot stored in The Quotations Page “My Page” feature that I had not yet moved to my private storage
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by Quote Week, Day 7: Life | Linden's Pensieve
17 Nov 2008 at 00:21
[...] shared with you my favorite quotes on happiness, food, friendship, writing, productivity, and success. Today, life. It happens to us whether we’re living it or letting it live us. I think the [...]
by ww
16 Nov 2008 at 05:24
Great question. I was just reflecting today on how, when I was a kid, the fun in playing with toys was setting things up, not the actual play. Like with Legos, for example. The fun was in building whatever you were going to make with the Legos (a house, an airplane, etc.), not actually playing with the toy you made afterwards. In a book I read recently called “The Inner Game of Tennis” the author noticed that when he is playing tennis “in the zone”, just letting things happen and not trying to control them too much with his conscious mind, that’s when he finds it enjoyable. I’m not going to do it justice here, but I’ll just say that it’s sparked the idea in me that when you’re engaged in doing something (read: hard work) that’s when the happiness comes. Why I’m not sure, but cool, huh?
by xgravity23
19 Nov 2008 at 20:02
@ww – That book sounds really interesting! I think I’m going to put it on my to-read list!
I wonder if it’s some brain chemicals thing… Maybe whatever our brain is doing when we’re engaged releases happy chemicals?