How do you measure how successful someone is in life?

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ProfessorLayton

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Nov 6, 2008
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Xpwn3ntial said:
By how long history takes to forget them.
Pretty much this. The fact that we still know certain people by name shows that they succeeded, no matter if what they did was good or bad.

That, and how many MySpace friends you have.
 

astrav1

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Jul 6, 2009
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I think it is how happy they are when they die. If they die happy and content with a serene state of mind, then they are successful.
 

Dr Snakeman

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Apr 2, 2010
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IzisviAziria said:
Swollen Goat said:
This. Money is nice, but if it costs your soul, I'd really rather be poor.
"For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul?"
- A verse in Proverbs that I don't feel like looking up.

I agree. There's no point in monetary success if you get no real fulfillment in your life. I judge success by what was accomplished in a person's life. Actually, a quote by Hemingway sums up my philosophy:

"Every man dies the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man's life from another."

Ponder on that.
 

Peteron

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Oct 9, 2009
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Well normally success is associated with wealth. However, my idea of success is just plain happiness. If you can live in a cardboard box and be the happiest guy on Earth, well, I would say that is pretty successful. My goal is to be happy when I am grown up. (Not stating I am not happy now of course.)
 

bdcjacko

Gone Fonzy
Jun 9, 2010
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If they met their own goals and or are in a place they like to be. But I'm not the judge, that Jebus fellow is, or his dad is. I don't know.
 

SimuLord

Whom Gods Annoy
Aug 20, 2008
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IBlackKiteI said:
Pfft the game of life man.

Whoever dies with the most money and stuff wins. : D
I have nothing but pity in my heart for people who seriously believe this, because their lives are so full of shallow and hollow pursuits that there is nothing in the afterlife for them---their soul has long since been sold.
 

ZippyDSMlee

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Sep 1, 2007
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Money means one can accomplish great things(a stable life), a family or more specific children(if the children are not leeching rodents to society or intelligence), and of course happiness.

As without happiness money is worthless, without happiness family becomes a bunch of life draining rodents.

The other 2 can help happiness and setup your external worth, but without a sane solid centered internal going on happiness shall be elusive.
 

Lilani

Sometimes known as CaitieLou
May 27, 2009
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To quote the Muppet Christmas Carol: "And if you need to know the measure of a man, you simply count his friends." As performed by the great Michael Cane as Ebenezer Scrooge.
 

Evilbunny

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Feb 23, 2008
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Xpwn3ntial said:
By how long history takes to forget them.
I really wouldn't call Jack the Ripper a successful person, even though people remember him long after he died.
 

Blind Sight

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May 16, 2010
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Three things: a successful individual must have reason, purpose, and self-esteem. I view those as the pillars of happiness, and being content with your life is true success in my mind.

Yes, I am just cribbing from Ayn Rand, but I really do hold those moral tenets as key to a decent life.
 

Nouw

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Mar 18, 2009
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You are your own judge. Are you happy with what you've done in your life? If so, you are successful.
 

thelastgentleman

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Sep 16, 2010
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(Goals met/Failed)*(# of Experiences-Heartbreaks)^Shared Love=Happiness

Happiness+Self Actualization=Success

...To die Knowing that the world will be shaped by your presence is to know that you lived, but to know that you will be missed is to know that you had purpose.
 

Death God

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Jul 6, 2010
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How happy they were in life. If they were happy and lived in the slums and worked for dirt but they were happy about it all as much as they could be, that would be successful.
 

Undeadlifter

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Dec 6, 2010
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As much as it is a bit of a cop-out to say this: I think to a large extent success can be most meaningfully measured by comparing it to your objectives.

What were you trying to achieve? Did you achieve it? Yes? Well done, have a cookie. (this is success in terms of effectiveness)

Now, what did it cost you to do that? Could you have done it quicker or more cheaply. (this is efficency- if you spend more resources to reach the same goal as someone else, have you been less succesful?)