Meaning of success

They say,"Nothing succeeds like success" yet "There are no short cuts to success"...very often in our lives we define boundaries around ourselves to define our failures & success...for some money is sign of success..for some name & fame...yet others feel successful if they have successful people around themselves...I tried putting words to my thoughts about success seven years ago...I believe for me meaning of success still remains the same....for me little things bring happiness and success and failures are just a means to learn how to try better the next time... :)

Once someone asked me,” What does success mean to you,
And to achieve it what would you do?”…
Quite unprepared for the question that came out of the blue,
I felt surprised because it was a question whose answer I never knew…
I asked myself, “Will I be successful if others thought so?”
Prompt came the reply, “Of course NO!”…
For me success changes its meaning at all stages of life,
& I don’t have definition of success of a particular type…
When I’m able to lend someone a helping hand,
I feel successful as a friend…
When I’m able to bring my parents a cause for laughter,
I feel successful as a daughter…
When I’m able to guide my brother & sister in the right direction,
I feel to have done the duty of a sister with much perfection…
When I’m able to study with sincerity & prudence,
I feel successful as a student…
When I’m able to set an example for others,
I fell successful as a trendsetter…
When I’m able to get my work done on my own terms,
I feel successful as a person…
So, I think success to me means, a feeling of contentment & satisfaction,
Which comes to me when I’m able to put my thoughts into action…
Whether peers criticize or praise, never catches my attention,
I hope there will be a day when I’ll call myself a ‘Successful Human Being’ without any hesitation…

(14.12.2000)