Everyday People’s Stories that Best Define True Success

Story-defining True Success in Different Life Settings

Story-defining true success: explaining what true success is via storytelling.

The Story of a Successful Chief

Chief Big, a very wealthy man by all standard, owns choice properties in Dubai, London, and Capetown, as well as other assets spread out in various cities across the world. He never flies business class. It’s first class or nothing. People say Chief is among the top 10 richest people in Africa’s largest economy. Lest I forget, Chief has a fleet of flashy automobiles. Chief can virtually afford to drive one car per day for a whole month and none of these cars costs a cent less than $50, 000. Chief is everything every young man idolizes. 

The Story of a Successful University Professor

Dr. A is a bulgy eyed university professor who is a workaholic. It is rumored that he stinks. Actually, Dr. A can’t remember the last time he had a decent meal in a good restaurant let alone a glass of wine.

His students say he is the very definition of boredom and how not to live your life. To Dr. A all that matters is research and research. He derives so much pleasure in it. The only time you would see him smile is when he gives a talk about a recent discovery. Dr. A has published in over 50 journals and spoken in over 15 conferences. The choice things of this world aren’t motivating to Dr. A. All he cares about is his research, which happens to be the only thing that gives him a sense of fulfillment. 

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The Story of a Successful Young Lady

Ada, a young lady in her mid twenties, lives in a rustic city. As a child she had a knack for the camera, so she took up a career in photography. She would walk through the streets of beautiful towns with her camera hung around her neck, taking photos at random for fun. Her friends says she is crazy and has been possessed by the images she took. They even offered to take her to Daddy G.O for deliverance. How can a young woman say she wants a career in photography?

From where would she get the money to afford a flashy car, filled partying, or to live in the sleekest of houses and tour the world? She should be thinking of getting married, at least that’s what most ladies dream about in this part of the world, after all, she is pretty. These are the things she hears people around say often. She has been warned that if she sticks to this career and refuses to marry, her future would definitely be bleak. But to Ada, none of all those matters. Her immediate concern is how she’d organize an exhibition for her works and get them published in various media.

Story-defining Success

What is success? If I take a sample of a hundred people and ask them, “Who amongst the persons in the stories above is successful?” I am sure a majority would say Chief Big. Success, many say, is excessive wealth. It is the cars, the money, the houses, the diamonds, etc. That’s what many of us see as success. A lot of people would risk anything to be like Chief, no doubt.

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But is success necessarily about wealth? Vincent Lombardi says success “is hard work, dedication to the job at hand and the determination that whether we win or lose we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.” Have you ever wondered why a soccer team losing with a wide margin would celebrate when they score a single goal?

Success is fulfillment. It is finding happiness in what one does. It is about you. It is about the process. It is what you define it to be.

A person can be successful as a caterer, another as a fashion designer, and then another as a writer. Success is not about the career but what you have made out of it. It is about the inspiration you have given to others. Success is being good at what you do.

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Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka might not be wealthy as Chief Big, but they are successful. Bayo Omoborinwo, the 28 year old Nigerian man story-defining his own success, is the official photographer of the president of Africa’s largest country. He has no assets like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg yet he is successful, and so are you. You don’t need be Chief Big to be successful. 

Success is about setting goals and achieving them. It is about happiness; the joy you derive from what you do. There’s no doubt that Chief Big is successful, but so is Dr. A and Ada, as long as they meet their set target.

So next time you hear the word “success,” take your mind off wealth and think fulfillment and joy.

Story-defining your own success is the ultimate goal. You’re your only competition.

Obi Trice Emeka is an essayist and a public affair analyst.