Five Myths about Success That are Completely Wrong

Everyone wants to become successful and definitely should. After all, we all are born to grow and expand in all aspects of life. But unfortunately, most of us are misguided by the irrational myths and erratic beliefs about success. Unveiling these myths and having a better cognition of this word “success” can definitely help us aiming at it and achieving it sooner in our life.

Myth # 1: Success means the same for everyone

There is a common myth that success has the same meaning for everyone. It is not at all true. Each one of us has to personally define what success means to us. Each one of us is a unique, custom designed individual. Our desires and wants are also unique. Everyone has different sets of values and until we do not live remaining integral to our own values, we can never feel truly successful, irrespective of whatever we are in the eyes of the world. Simply speaking, if we don’t know, where we want to go, we will never have feeling of being reached. Everyone of us should follow his or her own star.

Myth # 2: Successful people are born, not made

This is one of the biggest myths and is used by many of us to justify our setbacks and failures. In fact, it is absolutely wrong. Anyone can be successful. We need to drop this idea of our unworthiness for success first of all. We need to believe that we deserve success first of all and can achieve it too. Every one of us is born with a destiny in hand and is blessed with the exact capabilities and qualities tailored to fulfill our destiny.

Myth # 3: Successful people are rare

While it is true that the great renowned global successes, e.g. Muhammad, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Mao Zedong and George Washington and many more on one hand, and business leaders like Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Sam Walton of Wal-Mart, Bill Gates of Microsoft, Henry Ford of Ford Motor Company, are rare to find, it is also true that many other great success stories also exist at each level of society. People have been making successes and would keep on making success regardless of education, social status, race and country of origin. There are many people in the world who are not very renowned but they are successful in their own way as we have defined that everyone has his or her own definition of success. Hence, many people are successful in their lives although they may be anonymous.

Myth # 4: Successful people are always rich

As a result of today’s perverting media, our definition of success has been completely distorted. Every one of us has turned superficial and materialistic. Money, fame, a lucrative job title, a grand home and latest model car etc are considered the only yardsticks of success. And if someone is not having these things, he is considered as a failure which is wrong. We are not are our financial achievements, we are not our material possessions, we are not our belongings too. We are something higher than that. We are spiritual beings on a human journey. We need not be necessarily rich and wealthy to consider ourself successful although society imposes it. Instead, if we know our inner values and are living according to those values, we are successful, irrespective of the money in our wallet, the work we do, the car we drive or the house we live in.

Myth # 5: Being successful is being privileged

It is a common misconception that only the people who are born in better circumstances or have rich and resourceful parents or are from a particular region of the world or from a particular race can succeed. It is wrong. To illustrate my point I will narrate a pedagogical story.

There was a man who made his living by selling balloons at a fair. He had balloons of all colors, including red, yellow, blue, and green etc. Whenever business was slow, he would release a helium-filled balloon into the air; and when the children saw it going up, they all got attracted and wanted to buy one. They would come up to him, buy a balloon and his sales would go up again. He continued this process all day. One day, he felt someone tugging at his jacket. He turned around and saw a little boy who asked, “If you release a black balloon, would that also fly?” Moved by the boy’s concern, the man replied with empathy, “Son, it is not the color of the balloon; it is what is inside that makes it go up.”

Hence, we can clearly make out the point here that, in whatsoever family, region, country or circumstances you are born; only your inner attitude is the criteria for success. You need not be born to a landlord, have influential relatives or some other kind of superficial advantages to succeed. So stop blaming your circumstances and believe in your inner self.