"Wait 'til I Get My Money Right!" --- What is True Success???

How do we know when we are truly successful? How much money do we have to have? What car do we have to drive and how many do we have to have? How big does our house have to be? What neighborhood do we have to live in? How many pairs of designer jeans and custom shoes do we have to have? How many people do we have to know? Who do we have to know? Honestly, who has the answers to all of these questions? And do these answers even exist? Should these questions even be used to attempt to define success?

When I ask people to define success or when people imagine their future success, it always goes back to material possessions and monetary amounts. One of my favorite songs is Kanye West's "You Can't Tell Me Nothing". It is anthem for my generation simply because of the struggle we have as a society with the true meaning of success.

The song's chorus sings "La la la la, Wait 'til I get my money right, La la la la then you can't tell me nothing right." Many people relate to this chorus and to this song simply because we all aspire to be the freshest, to be envied, to be praised, to have all the money, all the clothes and all the hoes. We aspire to be 'successful'.

There is nothing wrong with material possessions and monetary gains, but they should not be our motivation. In society today, we are taught and given images that money and material things is what gets us noticed for our success and what matters. Nothing could be anymore false. When we look for success we are looking for freedom and the ability to do what we want. This freedom brings power, happiness and invisibility. That is what "you can't tell me nothing" means anyways. However, all of these possessions and gains are temporary and we are in fact looking for is peace and happiness.

When you think about it, true success is achieving true happiness and everything else is just an additional bonus. What makes us truly successful is our ability to be comfortable with who we are as people, appreciate what we have been blessed with and the small things in life that bring us happiness and peace. When you look at success this way, life becomes that much more enjoyable and less and less stressful.

Truth is, we will never have enough money, enough cars, enough girls/boys, enough clothes, or a big enough house to be successful. True success is a mindset as I have stated before. True success is a maturity that we must reach and is where true happiness rest. When the time comes where we realize this true state of success, we can then truly say, "You Can't Tell Me Nothing."

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success."
--credited to Ralph Waldo Emerson--