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Finding Success Starts with Finding Your Purpose

• John Coleman

It’s never too early — or too late — to ask the big questions.

Many people work their whole lives to achieve material success only to find their happiness and sense of purpose wanting when that success comes. They often spend their later years looking for purpose in their lives in order to feel a sense of meaning. Searching for meaning late in your life is a missed opportunity. Success without significance — purpose, service, and meaningful relationships — is not really success at all. It’s important to properly reflect on how you can live a life imbued intensely not just with the superficial trappings of “success” but with deep purpose and joy in all we do — starting now. Ask yourself:  What is the core purpose of my work and the ways in which it makes the world better? Who are the key relationships in my life, and how can I deepen them? What more can I do at work, at home, and in my community to serve others? How am I becoming better each day?

In 1995, Bob Buford wrote the bestselling book Halftime , which popularized the concept of “moving from success to significance” in the second half of life. Buford realized that many businesspeople work their whole lives to achieve material success only to find their happiness and sense of purpose wanting when that success comes. And he rightly encouraged those people to seek out meaning and impact in their later years.

• JC John Coleman is the author of the HBR Guide to Crafting Your Purpose . Subscribe to his free newsletter, On Purpose , follow him on Twitter @johnwcoleman, or contact him at johnwilliamcoleman.com.

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Essay on Success

List of essays on success in english, short essay on success – essay 1 (100 words), essay on success: definition and how to achieve success – essay 2 (250 words), essay on success: parameters, qualities for achieving success and conclusion – essay 3 (300 words), essay on success: what is real success – essay 4 (500 words), essay on success: success and hard work – essay 5 (500 words), essay on success: education is the road to success – essay 6 (650 words), long essay on success – essay 7 (1000 words), essay on success: intro, success in life and success for students  – essay 8 (2500 words).

The students should be able to distinguish between true success and success of ill deeds. The short essays for students shall enlighten them with the true meaning of success. The essays written in simple language are very informative and shall prove to be beneficial for students of all classes.

Success is much more than riches, power or fame. Success is simply the feeling of satisfaction and happiness one gets from leading a particular way of life or carrying out a particular activity. Success in any field or aspect of life can only be achieved through serious hard work and a little bit of opportunity. One of the most important recipes of success is determination and it might as well be the most important secret of success. To become successful, it is necessary to never give up until the aim of happiness and satisfaction in life is fully met. The happiness and satisfaction can be found in very different things in different people.

‘Success’ is a very powerful word. Many of us run behind it; most of us want to conquer it. So, what is success all about? Does this mean acquiring money or fame? Success means different things to different people.

Definition of Success

The Oxford dictionary defines success as “ The accomplishment of an aim or purpose ”.

This is the definition of success in theory, but in reality it differs according to people’s interests and goals.

It is very important for every individual to define their own concept of success rather than following someone else’s footsteps. We must analyze what makes us happy, what gives us contentment, and what motivates us . No one can list out our needs better than us.

True success means understanding our dreams and working joyfully to make those dreams come true.

How to Achieve Success

Many great people have suggested various ways to achieve success. But the real secret ingredient to nail success is to believe that we are already successful . With this strong affirmative thought, success can be easily achieved if we follow these three success factors:-

• We should follow our passion because that is where our heart and soul is. When we follow our passion there is no need for us to put any extra effort.
• The path to success is always challenging. We should build confidence to face any challenging situations.
• The third and most important success factor is discipline . When we work in a disciplined manner, things will automatically fall in place.

If we stick to these three factors, nothing can stop us from tasting success. Success is a journey which continues even after the goal is achieved.

Success is perhaps the most desired feeling that all of us want to experience in the pursuit of our goals and also in day to day life. Apparently, every individual has his or her own definition of success.

Parameters of Success

None can deny that the world blindly respects and trusts wealthy people. Money is the prime dynamic force that drives this world. The sooner we acknowledge and appreciate this fact the better. Academic success is a prime concern for all in the initial part of life, especially in the school days. For those who continue perusing studies, academic success is the epitome of everything. It is mostly observed that success in personal life becomes a tough task for those who have all the riches. Here is where the common people feel successful to have a happy personal life.

Qualities for Achieving Success

One should not regret their decisions taken in the past and must refrain dwelling in the past. We must give deep thought before taking any decisions and uttering words from the mouth. For making a successful decision one must ask questions to oneself like: What Do I Need To Do? What Will Be The Outcome? Will It Be Worth Doing? One must keep the emotions for success and failures intact and should not showcase it to others. Successful people never wait for applause or acknowledgement of their work as they eventually get it. To become successful one must keep friends close and enemies closer. A successful person never demeans the weak and never underestimates anyone.

To become successful one has to understand what is important in that instant, recognize and work on the weaknesses, take criticism and hold on to the strengths. From a broader perspective Success defines the contentment, peace of mind and sheer happiness that is achieved. One should remember that only perseverance can lead the path to success.

Introduction

Real success is something we should all strive to attain. Real success can simply be said to be achieving a higher position or very high position in our chosen field or area; it can be politics or business or even education. In the world we live in today, we have equated success to riches, prosperity, fortunes, cars, houses and so many mundane things. We believe that once a person has enough money to be able to afford what he or she wants, the person is successful. This is a total and complete misconception that will be discussed here.

Money isn’t a measure of success?

While it is important to note that having money is a part of being successful and you can classify as rich person as being successful, money is not all that success is about and we have a lot of people around us that are seemingly rich but still count themselves as not successful. In fact, sometimes we see wealthy people and conclude that they aren’t successful. If this is true then we can safely conclude that success is deeper that money or other superficial and physical things can we might acquire or own. Money is very important to success in life but it is not a necessity and neither is it the only key to success in life.

What is real success?

Real success is way beyond the physical things we can see, real success is all about the feeling of satisfaction we get when we accomplish a task or do something, it is the happiness we get just by remembering what we have achieved and how we did it, real success has to do with a lot of positive feelings about ourselves and pride in what we have been able to do. As we can see, real success can only be achieved within one’s self and that is why a lot of people who we think are successful still believe they aren’t just because they aren’t happy with what they are doing or they feel they can get so much more out of life. From this, we can see that it is very important to attain true success in life.

How one can attain real success

For one to be successful, the first and most important thing one needs to do is to set goals and objectives. Only through the setting of goals can one really have something to pursue and claim success when we got those things or meet the set goals and target. A very important ingredient in achieving real success is determination. If one is going to get real success, one has to be determined to never give up no matter what the situation might be. Another very important ingredient is hard work as we can’t expect to be successful if we don’t work hard and do all it takes to meet all of our set goals. It is important that we get all the skills that are required for us to be successful in our chosen field.

The yardstick of success varies from people to people. The success story of an individual begins from the moment of his/her birth. A human child begins the winning streak by challenging every obstacle from the moment of conception to delivery. So no human is ever a failure, and hence confidently we can say that the very existence of every human in this word bear an element of success.

At the primary level, success lies within the parameters of cracking competitive exams and identifying one’s aptitude as to which profession the individual can flourish. On broader terms, a successful life is indeed a happy life reflecting upon how far one has reached. Success is not just related to material success.

How to become successful in life?

Nobody has ever become successful within a split of a moment. It is not an arduous task either. Strong determination coupled with hard work is the key to success. The first step to any attempt is to set the goal. There can be short-term goals, and long-term goals and both play a significant role on your road to success. Once the target set, then you have to do strategic planning. It is advisable to set a time frame as well. It will enable you to evaluate yourself on a regular basis. Fixing a time frame can also check into our procrastinating nature.

The next most important factor to become successful in life is hard work. It is the key to success. The adage rightly says that ‘no pain, no gain.’ You need to keep in mind that nobody else is going to do what we ought to do. If we put little effort and saw the seeds of hard work and perseverance, then we are sure to reap success and bounty. If you have strong willpower and the fire to ignite your dreams, then nothing can pull you back.

Stay focused on your objectives rather than hoping:

You can inspire yourself by being a self-motivator and critic. It opens room for self-improvement and appreciation. As it is said that ‘well begun is half done,’ do not hesitate to sparkle a start. Once we get a push, the rest will fall right in place. Even if we stumble down a couple of times, do not let go of our dreams. Failures are part and parcel of any successful entity. Mistakes are quite common and what needs to do is that we acknowledge them, and bear them in our mind. It ensures that we learn from the mistakes and in turn do not repeat them.

Nobody has ever been successful overnight. Patience is yet another golden rule. Just convince your mind that you are strong enough to be successful, though not today, at least some day. Never be disappointed if you lose. Trust in yourself and believe that you will reach there and you deserve to reach there. Your strength and weakness define the person you are, and the realization of it is rather important. Selfless dedication and hard work will definitely get you there.

Once you achieve your goals, you can be a strong inspiration to others. There is a warrior in you and never shut it down. You are capable of climbing higher and boom into a fantastic personality. Whatsoever, live a humble life, spread positivity and bear the torch to others’ road to success.

Saying education is the road to success is just another way of saying education is very important for all of us in life, without education there would not be a lot of progression in both our individual and collective lives as human. It is very important that we get education in order to get success in life. Most times, people generally limit education to the four walls of a classroom or a school.

Education has roots in every area of our existence; education can be said to begin from the home, parents and family members educate and train the children on good characters that they should imbibe and teach them to remove some habits and characters. All of these good characters imbibed by the child through education at home can help the child become very successful in future.

We all know that without good characters and morals, it is extremely hard to become successful or make it in life as people would not want to be associated with such person. We are also educated on good communication and interpersonal skills that are very necessary for us to make it and become successful in life.

Importance of education to success

We need to know the true value and worth of education. Education helps to facilitate our skill, knowledge and learning; it gives us a different view of the world and refines our personality, helping us to build very positive attitudes. Education is a totally essential tool in ensuring a bright future.

Education can serve as a tool in achieving anything and everything good about life. When we get a high level and degree of education, we earn respect and recognition from our family and the society at large.

Education can go a very long way in changing our thoughts and level of reasoning; it broadens our worldview and provides us with the opportunity to get knowledge and technical skills that are highly needed in life. We can improve our knowledge level and skill by watching educational documentaries and programmes on the TV, reading the news and keeping up to date with all of the happenings all over the world, reading a lot of books that can educate us. Education can go a long way to make us into more rational and civilised people. Education guarantees our place among people in the society and can help us achieve all of our dreams and aspirations in life.

Education and success

Success is the goal of all of us and it is our mission. Life can sometimes be full of different opportunities and challenges. Success can only be attained if we have all of the required and needed tools.

The most important tool for success is education because without education, we wouldn’t be able to have a wide view of the world and be able to innovate and develop. A lot of youths and children today cite the examples of the successful people that didn’t graduate from school and still went ahead to be successful in life. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook famously did not graduate from Harvard university but still went ahead to become very successful. The truth is even though Mark didn’t graduate, he was well educated and wouldn’t have been able to start Facebook if he had no knowledge of coding and wasn’t enrolled in Harvard at all. From him, we can learn that education isn’t limited and can basically be any way of widening our knowledge and improving ourselves. We should never confuse education with getting a diploma or a degree. Only education in or out of school can make us be successful in life and give us the true career we want.

Without education, life would be totally meaningless without education. The only path to true success in life is education, every one that has been, is and would be successful in life needs education to do that.

The modern world has a way of doing things, that is, modern man has his own particular view on how things should look. That view is completely different from the perspectives upheld by those who came before us, so to say. Like the ancient Greeks were obsessed with performing heroic deeds, or medieval European Christians with martyrdom and upholding saintly principles, we can argue that modern man has an obsession with success. Or more precisely, one aspect of that new worldview is to compare people between each other through the notion of success.

In a way, the beginning of the 21 st century is preoccupied with the concept of success more than ever before, both individual and collective. That fact can is seen in many aspects of our daily lives, people are not just oppressed with celebrities and successful people they want to live that lifestyle or achieve some sort of greatness. Looking at the current state of things one is encouraged to analyze the situation further and to find the reason behind these phenomena, or at least to offer a new perspective on worldwide trend.

What Makes a Person Successful?

There are many ways a person can be successful. Most people will think of celebrities, politicians, artists, entrepreneurs, etc. They will think of someone who is known the world over because of the thing they do, the thing they are good at. That’s all fine, but there are successful people who do not like to be celebrities and there are, most definitely, celebrities who cannot count as successful people.

What then makes a successful person? Is it how they do things? Is it what they get in return? Is it in the number of things they can amass in their life? Most of those things can count as some part of our overall image of such a person. But, how can we define it? What is it actually?

What I like is simple answers, they are usually correct and the most practical at the same time. Even though not all answers can be simple, this one is. When you look up the word success in any dictionary you will find that it is considered an accomplishment of an aim or a purpose.

Surely people were able to accomplish an aim or a pulpous in their lifetimes, even several, before the 21 st century. Why is it that this noun has such relevance for the classification of people in this age?

History of Success

If we take a look at history, as I mentioned before, we can see that every age has a different occupation. When we talk about the ancient Egyptians, we do not talk about single individuals who made this country so great we talk about the collective in general. But also, we do not know the names of the people who actually accomplished the construction of the pyramid we remember the person who ordered it and did nothing to build it.

Sometimes when I think about all the great artists whose names I do not know, that built humanity in the name of kings, it seems as if it was forbidden for individuals to be famous if they were not born into some sort of noble family.

That drastically changed with the return of democracy to Europe and the liberation from the old-world view that separated people into casts, genders, and races. The new perspective born from revolutions gave every man the right to control their destiny and therefore the right to become successful, to achieve one’s dreams and ideals. Celebrating success can be seen as a collective celebration of the boundless human potential to do incredible things. Is it always so shiny? Or is there a dark side to the story?

Can Success Harm us?

We all know that being successful has its price and the people on the top can often be alone, because of the many sacrifices they had to make to get there. There are also countless examples of people who have achieved success professionally but their health and social lives fail because they cannot handle the strain that comes with maintaining that image of perfection that is expected of them.

Then there is also the psychological pressure any person can experience when they become obsessed with succeeding in the things they do. This emotion can cause such discomfort for people that they can freeze in key moments when they should be at the top of their game. Not to mention the depression some people experience when they come in contact with the images of people that exist on social media. There is a lot in being successful that we put under the carpet, or we just consider it as part of the game, something that we should bear. It does not have to be that way.

Sharing Success

People are made to be in a group and therefore everything they do they should do for each other; however, this fact of human existence has also been a breeding ground for nationalism and other group-oriented ideologies that made the 20 th century so dark. The striving to be successful, the best, the most dominant will make people perform incredible and inspiring things but it will also make them give legitimacy to the worst monstrosities. How do we draw the line between the good and bad aspect of wanting individual and collective success?

Maybe we should stop looking at success as part of domination and make it part of what makes us authentic as human beings. What do I mean? If we start celebrating everyday people when they express themselves or make something that is fulfilling for them and makes other people grow we will support others to develop this aspect of their humanity and not concentrate on domination and subordination. We should support the celebration of collective endeavors that strive to enhance the human race as a whole and not adore individual examples as if they were the meaning of life.

The secret to success is not in money and fame, but in reaching that feeling of fulfillment when you know you have accomplished something that truly matters to you and other people around you. Dreaming big and then having it, it’s not impossible.

If you’ve been feeling a little low lately, this essay on success is sure to boost your motivation levels and set the goals right for you! We hear about so many successful people from all the areas. Some of them may be our favorite singers, actors, scientists, writers, social workers, politicians, and what not. Their achievements inspire the hearts of many and urge them to do better.

While we tend to focus on the sensation of the final outcome, the journey toward the goal is what matters the most. Sadly, human nature forces us to look at everything through the eyes of instant gratification. But the stories of success are not created overnight. In real life, any small big achievement demands tons of efforts and sacrifices.

If success is a building, consider each effort to be a brick, that has to be put in day and night tirelessly. Dreaming about achieving a goal in life is a lovely idea. Nonetheless, working on it every day is more than just a fantasy. You have to make it happen.

Do you pray or meditate? What happens at that moment? You sit quietly and focus all your attention and energy into the prayer or in watching those thoughts. Prayer commands sincerity. True worshipping is when the heart is pure and honest.

In the same way, success is a conscientious phenomenon. It asks for dedication and ethical diligence. For a real success, there are no shortcuts and there is no quitting too! Yes, we all get tired and hopeless. That doesn’t mean we have to give in to those feelings and quit. Keep working no matter what!

At times, when you feel that you can’t go on anymore, take a break. Rejuvenate yourself, talk to your loved ones, rest a lot, create a fresh perspective. And come back again with a greater force and zeal. You never know when the efforts will turn into the sweet fruits of success. One thing common in all the great personalities was that they never quit!

Personal Definition of Success

There is no fixed definition of success. You see, success is quite a relative term and its meaning changes from one person to another. However, it is sure to say that being able to feel content with your life and achieve what you dreamed of, is what makes you a successful person!

A prosperous life is not strictly about having all the materialistic comforts around. To some extent, this may be true. But, all in all, it’s only a microscopic way to measure someone’s success.

Let us introduce you to some of the most powerful quotes on success given by the different eminent personalities.

Everybody’s favorite, the great feminist and poetess, Maya Angelou says, “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

Winston Churchill quotes it as, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”

Not to mention, America’s former first lady, Michelle Obama who expresses her own views on success. According to her, “Success isn’t about how much money you make. It’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.”

In the words of Albert Einstein, “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”

Anne Sweeney, who remained the president of the Disney Channel from 1996 to 2014. In her words, “Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.”

It is evident enough how these miraculous and charismatic visionaries have described success in various terms and that there is no particular way to define it. The only authentic parameter should be your own satisfaction and happiness.

What is Success

We have understood that success is an abstract notion. Now, it is time to get to the bottom and explore some basic questions about it. Have you ever tried to inquire into what success means to you? What are the things that would make you convinced that you are a successful person now? Does your heart yearn for fame, money, peace, joy, love, or something else?

These questions are crucial. They make your mind clear and set your priorities more effectively. Always remember that a virtue that appeals to you may not mean the same to another person. Everybody has their own preferences and goals in life.

The bottom line is regardless of what the goal is, we can each be successful in our lives as long as the achievement makes us happy and content. It could be your education, a well-paying job, having a loving family, social security, or freedom to live the way you want to.

Anything, no matter how small or big, that fills us with a sense of purpose and gratifies the heart leads to success. If you are a happy person and love your life, then success is yours! For a long time, our minds have been trained to believe that money is the greatest source of joy. However, it’s not true!

Undoubtedly, wealth is a strong means to create comfort and security for us. But if it was the only thing needed for success, why do the richest people still deal with depression, anxiety, fears, and failures? Have you ever thought about it?

Physical wealth does not guarantee an insusceptibility to dissatisfaction and failure. Thinking otherwise would only create a bottomless void within you. People madly run after money and career. And yet when they are well-established, they still may not feel the joy and peace within. What is the missing piece in their lives?

Success in Life

Life is a rollercoaster, isn’t it! We all have our own strengths and weaknesses. Overcoming your flaws and frailty is a victory in itself. If you are thinking of coming out as a winner in life, don’t confine yourself to monetary values. With money, you may feel “technically” rich and yet have no access to the truest joy.

There are many dimensions to success. But everything depends upon our ability to recognize them. What are these dimensions, by the way! Let us explore a few of them.

You must have heard the famous quote, “Health is Wealth”. We need to understand the hidden value of this quote today more than ever. Ask yourself, if you would be able to enjoy anything in the same way if you were suffering from an acute or chronic illness? No, but such physical ailments are a bitter truth to many. To these people, achieving a partial or full recovery, having a long and respectful life is a success.

For the emotional souls, having their loved ones around, giving them a quality life, and taking care of them is what counts as the real victory. A person who cares about the whole society, for him/ her the true meaning of succeeding would be providing the basic amenities to the underprivileged, fighting for human rights, or creating awareness.

And yes, the biggest of the aims could be as simple and meaningful as leading a peaceful life. It could be about not having regrets and ill feelings toward others. They could also be as big as winning a gold medal in the Olympics, breaking the stereotypes, getting out of a toxic relationship and having a stable life.

The point is, success cannot be put into a singular category. And comparing one’s goal with the other person would be like comparing apple to an orange, or fruits to vegetables. Each person is unique. Their journey of life is different and so are their goals and parameters of success.

Success for Students

The keys to successful academic life are open secrets. As a student, your progress depends on the level of self-discipline, dedication, and hard work. If you are able to pull off these habits in long-term success would never leave you. Right? Nonetheless, the matter is not so simple.

In today’s time, students are looking for “success” more desperately than ever! Considering the cut-throat competitions, it is quite understandable also. The pressure of family’s expectations makes things even more complicated. The students have no option except to excel in their studies, but at what costs?

First of all, academic success is dependent on a limited number of subjects. The true potential of a child or a young one cannot be fairly measured based on such a narrow line. Moreover, somehow we have come to believe that excellent grades are a must for a student’s survival in this world. Fortunately, that’s not completely correct.

The practical life is much more than a few subjects. Most of the things we learn at school and colleges are plain theories. The bookish knowledge hardly proves to be of any help in the real world. What makes you rich is the experiences you gain on a daily basis.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that grades and books shouldn’t be taken seriously at all. You need to understand that these things play a partial role in forming the ladder of success. The better word to focus on would be ‘growth’.

If winning the race and grabbing a seat in some reputed college takes a toll on your mental, physical, and psychological health, then, we are seriously doing something wrong here. After all, these are the same factors leading to the rising number of suicides among the youths.

Not getting good marks doesn’t mean that you are not good enough for anything. It just means that you haven’t explored everything yet. There are many great personalities like Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, J.K. Rowling, who were a failure on the scales of conventional methods. But they proved everyone wrong.

All you need to remember is that never lose faith in yourself. If you really love what you do and consistently pour all of your energy into that task, then, definitely success is waiting for you! Make a routine of your choice and follow it religiously. Stay punctual. Fix your eyes on the goal and keep working.

Success and Hard Work

You can only work hard when you are fit overall. A good health is not just about having a strong body but also a strong mind and willpower. For all these things, you need energy. So, pay attention to things that you are feeding to your sensory organs. This includes from the proper diet to releasing stress, stay positive, working out, having those around who believe in you.

Don’t just work hard on your curriculum only. Take charge of other aspects too. As much as possible, include healthy foods in the diet. Staying positive induces good hormones in the body and the effect clearly shows in your performance. To strengthen your mental health, meditate every day.

Sitting around greenery, talking to your loved ones, reading positive books, are some of the other ways to replenish your energy levels. Make sure to work out every day, or at least go for a 30-minutes walk. Keep yourself hydrated. Drink plenty of water and other fluids.

Apart from focusing on the positive steps, be careful of the negative factors too. For instance, any negative conversation or toxic people in your life may suck away all your energy and charm. Try your best to avoid these triggers. Not only that, distractions like television, online chats, social media, parties, etc. should not be underestimated.

Keep your body and mind clean like a temple. It will help you work harder and with more effectiveness. There are no shortcuts to success. However, prefer to work smart rather than work hard. Never ever neglect the amount of sleep you get. There is no substitute for proper sleep.

Lack of sleep makes you cranky. Your concentration and memory become poorer. The learning becomes slower. So, a million dollar advice would be to get sufficient sleep, that means up to 8-10 hours. A few hours may be up and down depending on the person’s body requirements.

It is okay if the hard work makes you tired. However, the whole idea of hard work should not suffocate you. They say that if you love what you do, you don’t have to work a day in your life! If the set goals don’t well-align with your heart, explore something that does. Your goals should be set by you and not anyone else.

Success and Failure

Do you fear failure? What is the definition of failure according to you? How important is a failure for success? Let us find some answers to these amazing questions and doubts that we all face within us. To make things easier, here are a few great quotes for you!

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” – Robert F. Kennedy

“Giving up is the only sure way to fail.” – Gena Showalter

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas A. Edison

Must have changed your perspective a bit! Well, it won’t be wrong to say that failure is a part of success. It is an inevitable part of that process. Like two sides of a coin. You cannot expect to taste success until you have learned to embrace the failures.

There is an interesting story about it with a strong message. There used to live a guy who owned a grand and luxurious car. That car always stayed inside the house. The man never drove it. One day, one of his friends visited him and asked the reason for not taking the car out on the road.

Do you know what the man replied? He said that he would take the car out when all the traffic lights are green. He was waiting for an impossible thing to happen! Can you believe that? It’s ironic but yes, we all do the same metaphorically.

When we don’t take steps due to the fear of failure, subconsciously, we are waiting for everything to be perfect. So perfect that there would be no tiny scope for failing. That means there would be no red lights at all. How is that even possible!

Leave the fear of failure behind. The only thing you should be scared of is not making efforts. Because that kills even the slightest chance of success. Be humble and embrace failure. Learn from your mistakes. These lessons are valuable. No book would teach you the way your experiences will.

Success is a cumulative and relative term. Without peace and love, money and fame don’t count as success. True success would satiate your soul. It would fill your life with joy. Shrug off the idea of comparing your life with someone else’s. Every person follows a different path and journey. That is why the meaning of success also varies from one individual to another.

No matter how difficult or impossible seems the goal, never quit. Keep working and one day you would succeed. Don’t confine your ambitions to just making money. Listen to your heart and follow it. The voices within us are our guiding lights!

Try to be a good person before becoming a successful person. Only an individual who has earned the love and respect of all has achieved the truest success.

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✍️Essay on Success in 100,150 and 200 Words: The Power of Positive Mindset

• Updated on  
• Oct 26, 2023

The concept of success is very simple; if you invest your time wisely and work hard, you will achieve success in no time. But success is not as simple as it sounds; what might sound like success to one might not be the same for another person. It embodies the realization of one’s goals, aspirations, and desires, often accompanied by a sense of accomplishment and fulfilment.

Success is manifested in different aspects, such as career achievements, personal growth, or even the pursuit of happiness. It is a journey filled with determination, perseverance, and often a willingness to learn from both triumphs and setbacks. Ultimately, success is a subjective pursuit that reflects the unique path and definition of achievement for each person.

Table of Contents

• 1 What Makes a Person Successful?
• 2 Essay on Success in 100 Words
• 3 Essay on Success in 150 Words
• 4 Essay on Success in 200 Words

What Makes a Person Successful?

Being successful is very subjective and can vary from person to person. Therefore, here are some common factors which contribute to the success of a person.

• Hard Work and Persistence: Success requires effort and dedication and one has the ability to face challenges.
• Setting Clear Goals: It is very important for one to have specific and attainable goals which will provide direction and motivation. 
• Networking: The person should have the capability to build relations and at the same time be open to opportunities which strike. 
• Time Management: Managing time effectively and priorities is essential for productivity and progress. 
• Self-Discipline: One should be very focused and maintain self-control which will help them achieve long-term goals. 
• Management of Finances: Having a basic understanding of finances and managing them wisely is also very important for attaining financial success. 

Also Read: Essay on Water Conservation

Essay on Success in 100 Words

Success is the culmination of dedication, hard work, and determination. It is not merely the achievement of material wealth, but the fulfilment of one’s goals and aspirations. Success varies from person to person; for some, it’s a thriving career, while for others, it could be having a harmonious family life. 

To attain success, individuals must set clear objectives, persevere through challenges, and learn from failures. Success often involves learning, adapting, and embracing change. It’s the result of resilience and the willingness to keep pushing forward. Ultimately, success is a personal journey, and its definition is unique to each individual.

Essay on Success in 150 Words

Everybody wants to be successful in life, but are they willing to put in all their efforts? Success is not solely measured by wealth or fame but by achieving one’s goals and finding fulfilment. True success is often the result of determination, hard work, and resilience. Setting clear, achievable objectives and being persistent through challenges are crucial components.

Education is a common path to success, providing knowledge and skills that open doors to opportunities. Embracing failure as a stepping stone, learning from mistakes, and adapting to change are essential to achieving success. However, it’s important to recognize that success is subjective and can encompass a broader spectrum of achievements beyond material possessions.

Personal growth, happiness, and a sense of purpose are all part of success. Balancing personal and professional life is key to sustaining it. Ultimately, success is a journey, not a destination, and it’s about realizing your full potential and making a meaningful contribution to the world.

Also Read: Essay on Nature: In 100 Words, 200 Words, 300 Words

Essay on Success in 200 Words

Success is a multifaceted concept, often defined by achieving one’s goals and aspirations. It is a subjective and deeply personal notion, as what constitutes success varies from person to person. However, a common thread in success is the continuous pursuit of one’s ambitions, combined with determination and hard work.

Success is not solely measured by material wealth, but rather by the fulfilment and satisfaction that comes from reaching one’s objectives. It is the result of setting clear goals, developing a plan, and facing all the challenges. The road to success is rarely smooth; it is often marked by setbacks and failures. These obstacles are crucial for personal growth, teaching valuable lessons that contribute to success in the long run.

Moreover, success is not an endpoint; it is a continuous journey. It requires adaptability and the willingness to learn and evolve. Success can be found in various aspects of life, from career achievements to personal relationships and self-fulfilment. It is the balance and harmony between these different facets that lead to a truly successful and meaningful life.

In conclusion, success is a complex and individualized concept, rooted in determination, hard work, resilience, and personal growth. It is not defined solely by external markers but by the fulfilment and happiness, one derives from their accomplishments and the journey to achieve them.

Related Articles

Writing an essay on success requires you to describe this multifaceted concept. Success is achieved when one’s goal and objective is attained. Those who are successful, have fulfilled their highest ambitions in life and work, or are actively striving towards doing so. 

Happiness does not follow success. Contrary to popular belief, living a life that makes you happy can help you achieve your goals and be content. 

You gain from success because it gives you the things you want or need. Setting and achieving attainable goals results in a feeling of well-being. 

For more information on such interesting topics, visit our essay-writing page and follow Leverage Edu ! 

Malvika Chawla

Malvika is a content writer cum news freak who comes with a strong background in Journalism and has worked with renowned news websites such as News 9 and The Financial Express to name a few. When not writing, she can be found bringing life to the canvasses by painting on them.

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How to Be Successful in Reaching Your Goals

9 Psychological Strategies to Get Ahead in Life

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Rachel Goldman, PhD FTOS, is a licensed psychologist, clinical assistant professor, speaker, wellness expert specializing in eating behaviors, stress management, and health behavior change.

Build a Growth Mindset

Improve your emotional intelligence, develop mental toughness, strengthen your willpower, focus on intrinsic motivations, set achievable goals, nurture traits linked to high potential, cultivate strong social support, avoid burnout.

Success is often defined as the ability to reach your goals in life, whatever those goals may be. In some ways, a better word for success might be attainment, accomplishment, or progress. It is not necessarily a destination but a journey that helps develop the skills and resources you need to thrive.

At a Glance

There are many different tactics for how to be successful in life, but the strategy that works best for you may depend on what success means to you . If you think of success as doing well at work or earning a high salary, your professional goals and accomplishments will take priority.

While professional success can be one piece of the puzzle, it leaves out many other important areas of life. Family, romantic relationships, academics, and athletics are just a few areas where people may strive for success. Your definition of success may vary, but many might define it as being fulfilled, happy, safe, healthy, and loved.

While there is no single right way to be successful, you can improve your chances by building a growth mindset, improving your emotional intelligence, developing mental toughness, and strengthening your willpower, among other strategies.

Because goals are self-created, what people view as success can vary depending on their needs, goals, and situation. There may not be a perfect combination of ingredients that can guarantee success. Still, there are some basic steps you can follow that can improve your chances of being successful in life, love, work, or whatever happens to be important to you.

Guido Mieth / Getty Images

Research by psychologist Carol Dweck suggests that there are two basic mindsets that influence how people think about themselves and their abilities: the fixed mindset and the growth mindset .

People who possess a fixed mindset believe that things such as intelligence are static and unchangeable. Those with a fixed mindset believe that success isn't a result of hard work—it's simply a consequence of innate talents.

Because they believe that such talents are something people are either born with or without, they tend to give up more easily in the face of a challenge. They quit when things do not come easily because they believe that they lack the inborn skills needed to excel.

Those who have a growth mindset, on the other hand, feel that they can change, grow, and learn through effort. People who believe that they are capable of growth are more likely to achieve success. When things get tough, they look for ways to improve their skills and keep working toward success.

People with a growth mindset believe that they have control of their life, while those with a fixed mindset believe that things are out of their control.

What can you do to build a growth mindset?

• Believe that your efforts matter . Rather than thinking their abilities are fixed or stuck, people who have a growth mindset believe that effort and hard work can lead to meaningful growth.
• Learn new skills . When faced with a challenge, they look for ways to develop the knowledge and skills that they need to overcome and triumph.
• View failures as learning experiences . People with growth mindsets don't believe that failure is a reflection of their abilities. Instead, they view it as a valuable source of experience from which they can learn and improve. "That didn't work," they might think, "so this time I'll try something a little different."

Get Advice From The Verywell Mind Podcast

Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast shares an exercise that can help you introduce a healthy habit into your life or get rid of a bad habit that's been holding you back.

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Overall intelligence has long been believed to be one factor contributing to success in different areas of life, but some experts suggest that emotional intelligence may actually matter even more.   Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to understand, utilize, and reason with emotions. Emotionally intelligent people are able to understand not only their own emotions, but those of others as well.

To improve your emotional intelligence:

• Pay attention to your own emotions . Focus on identifying what you are feeling and what is causing those feelings.
• Manage your emotions . Step back and try to view things with an impartial eye. Avoid bottling up or repressing your feelings, but look for healthy and appropriate ways of dealing with what you are feeling.
• Listen to others. This not only involves hearing what they are saying, but also paying attention to nonverbal signals and body language.

Mental toughness refers to the resilience to carry on and continue trying even in the face of obstacles. People who possess this mental strength see challenges as opportunities. They also feel that they have control over their own destiny, are confident in their abilities to succeed, and are committed to finishing what they start.

What can you do to improve your mental toughness and increase your chances of being successful in life?

• Believe in yourself . Cut out negative self-talk and look for ways to stay positive and self-encouraging.
• Keep trying . Even when things seem impossible or setbacks keep holding you back, focus on ways that you can develop your skills and keep soldiering forward. One of the key habits of successful people is always looking at setbacks or failures as learning opportunities.
• Care for yourself . Staying strong also means that you treat yourself with kindness. Check in with yourself regularly to ensure you have the things you need to thrive.
• Look for growth opportunities . Learning more about yourself and challenging yourself to try new things can provide opportunities for self-discovery.

In a long-running longitudinal study, psychologists followed a group of children who were identified by their teachers as highly intelligent. As they compared how these subjects fared throughout childhood and into adulthood, researchers found that those who ultimately were the most successful in life shared some key characteristics, including perseverance and willpower.  

These characteristics tend to be part of an individual's overall personality, but they are also something you can improve. Delayed gratification , learning to persist in the face of challenges, and waiting for the rewards of your hard work can often be the key to success in life.

Strategies you can use to improve your willpower include:

• Distraction . For example, if you are trying to lose weight but are having a difficult time staying away from your favorite snacks, distracting yourself during your moments of weakness can be an effective way to avoid giving in to temptation.
• Practice . Willpower is something you can build, but it takes time and effort. Start by making small goals that require will power to achieve, such as avoiding sugary snacks. As you build your ability to use your will power to achieve such small goals, you may find that your willpower is also stronger when working on much larger goals.

What is it that motivates you the most? Do you find that the promise of external rewards keeps you reaching for your goals, or is it the more personal, intrinsic motivators that keep you feeling inspired? While extrinsic rewards such as money, awards, and praise can be helpful, many people find that they are most motivated when they are doing things for personal satisfaction.

If you are doing things because you enjoy them, because you find them meaningful, or because you enjoy seeing the effects of your work, then you are driven by intrinsic motivations. Research has shown that while incentives can be a better predictor of some types of performance, intrinsic motivators tend to be better at predicting performance quality.  

While it is often the external motivators that get people started, it is the internal motivators that kick in and keep people going in order to maintain those new behaviors.

What can you do to boost your sense of intrinsic motivation?

• Challenge yourself . Pursuing a goal that is achievable but not necessarily easy, is a great way to increase motivation to succeed. Challenges can keep you interested in a task, improve your self-esteem, and offer feedback on areas you can improve on. Choosing a slightly challenging task will help motivate you to get started—it feels exciting!
• Stay curious . Look for things that grab your attention and that you want to learn more about.
• Take control . It can be difficult to stay intrinsically motivated to pursue a goal if you don't feel that you have any real influence over the outcome. Look for ways that you can take an active role.
• Don't fear competition . There might be other people trying to reach the same goals as you, but this doesn't mean you should give up. Don't compare your progress or journey to anyone else's. You can look to others for motivation and inspiration, but remember that we all have different paths.

Successful people know that they need to start by having attainable goals to achieve. These goals are not necessarily easy to reach, but by having something to aim for, you will be better able to move forward and overcome obstacles.

When setting goals :

• Be as specific as possible : Choosing a goal like "I'm going to spend 20 minutes a day learning a new language" is more achievable than setting a general goal like "I'm going to learn French."
• Break your goal into smaller steps : Even if you select a specific goal, it can often seem difficult to achieve. Try breaking it into smaller steps that allow you to focus on moving forward without becoming overwhelmed.
• Reward progress : Recognize your successes along the way and allow yourself to enjoy your accomplishments.

One of the biggest reasons people don't follow through on their goals [is] because they aren't what THEY want to do. Make sure your goals align with your personal values and needs, not what you 'think' you should do.

Psychologists have long attempted to link specific traits or personality characteristics to success in life and work. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is one widely used assessment that is often utilized by businesses to screen job candidates. However, research often fails to show that the MBTI actually correlates to performance.  

According to some more recent research, there are certain traits that tend to be consistently tied to success.   Researchers Ian MacRae and Adrian Furnham have identified six key traits that can play a role in how well people do at work.   However, they note that there are optimal levels of these traits. Too little of these characteristics can hinder success, but so can having too much.

If you are trying to learn how to be successful in life, consider what you can do to nurture these key traits:

Conscientiousness

Conscientious people consider the effects of their actions. They also consider how other people will react and feel. You can nurture this trait by:

• Thinking about the consequences of actions
• Considering other people's perspectives

Accepting of Ambiguity

Life is full of situations that are not always clear. People with a great deal of potential for success are better able to accept this ambiguity. Rather than being rigid and inflexible, they are ready to adapt when the unexpected comes their way. You can learn to embrace ambiguity by:

• Challenging your perspectives and considering opinions and ideas other than your own
• Not fearing the unfamiliar
• Being willing to change
• Valuing diversity

Capable of Adjustment

In addition to being able to accept ambiguity, success often hinges on the ability to quickly adjust to change. You can nurture this ability to adjust by:

• Reframing difficult situations, to see them as opportunities to learn and grow rather than simply obstacles to live through
• Being open to change; when plans or situations change, step back and look at ways to cope

The world's most successful people often exemplify great courage. They are willing to take risks, even in the face of potential failure. Research suggests that courageous people utilize positive emotions to overcome fear.   You can improve your tolerance of risk by:

• Quelling negative emotions and focusing on more positive feelings
• Balancing risk with common sense; being cautious and pragmatic can also pay off, depending upon the situation

People who are successful tend to be curious about the world around them. They are always eager to learn more, including new knowledge and skills. You can cultivate your sense of curiosity by:

• Relating tasks to your interests: If you find filing boring, for example, look for a more efficient way to categorize the information to play to your strengths as an organizer.
• Learning new things

Competitiveness

Successful people are able to utilize competition to motivate, but avoid falling prey to jealousy. You can nurture a healthy sense of competition by:

• Focusing on your own improvements; rather than worry about being the best at something, pay attention to your progress
• Being happy when others succeed

Some personality traits and types may be better suited for certain jobs than others. However, no specific personality trait can guarantee success, nor can being low in that trait doom someone to failure.

While there are differences in opinion on just how much personality can be altered , nurturing some of these high potential traits might help you develop skills that can serve you well in many different aspects of your life.

Doing things alone can be difficult, but having a strong social support system can make things easier. Different types of social support can be important for success.

• Emotional support can provide the comfort, security, and empathy you need as you face challenges.
• Esteem support can boost your confidence and encourage you to keep going.
• Informational support can provide mentorship, advice, and other necessary resources to reach your goals.
• Tangible support can help you in active and practical ways. This might involve someone helping you perform a task or taking care of the task for you.

Having even one close person in your life that you feel you can go to in any circumstance is more helpful for your relational well-being than having 10 friends who are surface level. It's about quality, not quantity.

Mentors, friends, co-workers, and family members can cheer you on when things get tough and even offer advice and assistance that can help you improve your chances for success.

Burnout can happen when you are exposed to chronic stress . It can seriously impede success and lead to exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced performance.  

Reduced motivation makes it harder to stick to your goals and can make you feel apathetic and uninterested.

Self-care strategies, such as getting enough sleep and engaging in healthy eating, can relieve some stress. But addressing burnout often requires getting to the bottom of the issue that is causing the problem.

Sometimes, this might mean reassessing your goals. If your goals are creating too much stress or if you are trying to achieve too much too fast, it can be a recipe for burnout. Look for ways to reduce stress, whether that involves shifting your goals, changing your plans, or even doing something more significant like moving somewhere else or changing jobs.

Keep in Mind

There is no single measure of success, and certainly no single answer for how to be successful in life. Yet by looking at some of the habits of successful people, you can learn new tactics and strategies to implement in your own daily life. Cultivate and nurture these abilities, and over time you may find that you are better able to reach your goals and achieve the success you want in life.

Dweck CS, Yeager DS. Mindsets: A view from two eras . Perspect Psychol Sci. 2019;14(3):481-496. doi:10.1177/1745691618804166

Urquijo I, Extremera N, Azanza G. The contribution of emotional intelligence to career success: Beyond personality traits . Int J Environ Res Public Health . 2019;16(23). doi:10.3390/ijerph16234809

Giles B, Goods PSR, Warner DR, et al. Mental toughness and behavioural perseverance: A conceptual replication and extension . J Sci Med Sport . 2018;21(6):640-645. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2017.10.036

Shoda Y, Mischel W, Peake PK. Predicting adolescent cognitive and self-regulatory competencies from preschool delay of gratification: Identifying diagnostic conditions .  Developmental Psychology. 1990;26(6):978-986. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.26.6.978  

Cerasoli CP, Nicklin JM, Ford MT. Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic incentives jointly predict performance: A 40-year meta-analysis . Psychol Bull . 2014;140(4):980-1008. doi:10.1037/a0035661

Pittenger DJ. Cautionary comments regarding the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator .  Consult Psychol J Pract Res. 2005;57(3):210-221. doi:10.1037/1065-9293.57.3.210 

Komarraju M, Karau SJ, Schmeck RR, Avdic A. The big five personality traits, learning styles, and academic achievement . Pers Indiv Differ . 2011;51(4):472-477. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2011.04.019

MacRae I, Furnham A, Reed M. High Potential: How to Spot, Manage, and Develop Talented People at Work . Bloomsbury; 2018.

Eagleson C, Hayes S, Matthews A, Perman G, Hirsch CR. The power of positive thinking: Pathological worry is reduced by thought replacement in generalized anxiety disorder . Behav Res Ther . 2016;78:13-18. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2015.12.017

Maslach C, Leiter MP.  Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry.   World Psychiatry . 2016;15(2):103–111. doi:10.1002/wps.20311

Crum AJ, Salovey P, Achor S. Rethinking stress: The role of mindsets in determining the stress response. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2013;104(4):716-733. doi:10.1037/a0031201

McLain DL, Kefallonitis E, Armani K. Ambiguity tolerance in organizations: Definitional clarification and perspectives on future research . Front Psychol . 2015;6:344. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00344

Mussel P. Introducing the construct curiosity for predicting job performance . J Organ Behav . 2012;34(4):453-472. doi:10.1002/job.1809  

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

551 Success Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Looking for exciting success topics for an essay? Success is a concept that is definitely worth exploring!

🔝 Top 10 Success Topics to Write About

📑 aspects to cover in a success essay, 🏆 best success topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good essay topics on success, 🎓 simple & easy success essay titles, 🥇 most interesting success topics to write about, 📌 writing prompts about success, 💡 easy success essay topics, ❓ questions about success.

There is a range of topics to focus on here. You might want to tell your readers about the life of a successful person, study the role of education in a successful career, elaborate on the most colorful examples of success and failure, etc. In this article, we’ve gathered a list of top success topic ideas to write about. You’ll also find here a collection of success essay examples to inspire you even more.

• Natural selection as a form of biological success
• Adaptiveness as the key to biological and social success
• Success in education: is the grading system fair?
• How to measure success in life?
• How to define “a successful company”?
• The American Dream: is the ideal of success realistic?
• Does success bring happiness?
• Self-made man: is it a myth?
• Compare and contrast the life trajectories of two successful people
• Success in education and in career: is there a correlation?

What do we perceive as success? Why are some people more successful than others? These are some of the questions you can answer in your essay on success.

Success essays are engaging assignments that allow you to analyze personal stories and define qualifications for success. The purpose of these papers is to find the true meaning of success.

Before starting to work on an essay, think of the topic you want to discuss. Here are some examples of success essay topics and ideas we can suggest:

• How one’s personal philosophy allows them to succeed
• Do you need to work hard to succeed?
• Self-confidence as a significant factor of success
• Can success be harmful?
• Overcoming personal challenges in life to achieve success
• The differences between individuals’ perspectives on success
• The link between success and wealth
• Education is the key for success

Remember that you can choose from many other successful essay titles, as the topic is broad. You can also ask your professor or peers about possible success essay ideas. Once you have selected one of the topics and titles for your essay, you can start working on your paper. Here are some important aspects you need to cover:

• Think of the arguments you will present and develop an outline for your paper. Remember to include an introductory paragraph, several body paragraphs (at least three), and a summary of your work. When working on an outline, think about the purpose of your paper. Do you want to motivate the reader to achieve success? Do you want to show the possible disadvantages of being successful?
• Hint: If you are not sure about the issue you have selected, find success essay examples online. It will help you to see whether the problem is relevant.
• A thesis is a very important part of your essay. You should state it at the end of the introductory paragraph. A thesis statement can look like this:

Money and wealth do not define success. / Hard work is the most important contributor to one’s success.

• Define success. This point is especially important if you are writing an opinion piece. State what success means to you and provide a dictionary definition. Provide a comprehensive perspective on success and analyze it from different viewpoints (wealth, social status, education level, etc.).
• Discuss possible parameters of success. They can include wealth, good health, or academic knowledge.
• Discuss the factors that can contribute to one’s success. You can share success stories or biographies of famous people to prove your points.
• You can talk about the significance of motivation and dedication in achieving success. Address the value of hard work and patience. This way, your reader can get inspiration from your paper.
• Keep your reader engaged by asking questions or providing interesting facts about the issue. At the same time, stick to the formal language if your professor did not say otherwise.
• It is always good to support your claims with evidence. Although success can be a subjective concept, refer to outside sources in your arguments. Ask your professor about the types of sources you can use for your paper.
• Provide examples throughout your paper. This step is crucial to help the reader understand your point better.
• Discuss opposing perspectives on the issue if you are working on a persuasive essay. Remember to prove that your opinion is more reliable than the alternative one.

Don’t hesitate to check out some of our essay samples on the website!

• Importance of Marketing in an Organization It is through marketing that everyone in the organization gets to learn about the nature of the customers and the market that they are dealing with.
• Why Is Tesco Successful: Tescos Success Factors Essay Tesco depends on the presence and dominance in the U.K.to expand its operations, as well as generate revenues. Price wars and the presence of other strong retail brands are a treat to Tesco’s dominance in […]
• EBay’s Success Factors, Fee Structure, and Future That is how eBay manages to attract high-volume sellers, who can contribute to the company’s success and increase its revenue. If the organization needs more buyers and sellers, that is evident that it has to […]
• Role of Education for Successful Careers There are also questions touching on the role of education in determining the level of success in the business world and in improving the quality of life in general.
• Perseverance Is the Mother of Success in Learning The purpose of this essay is to describe the challenges I encountered in my life in the learning process of the English language and how I overcame the challenges with my persistence and the results […]
• Qualities of Successful Marriages Faith makes great differences in marriage and this is why it is very important to share your individual beliefs and values with the partner prior to marriage in order to understand each other and plan […]
• The Valve Corporation’s Success To be more precise, the company is looking to expand to the new niches of the gaming industry and add the gaming hardware and the supportive software to its line of products.
• Academic Success for Student Critical thinking is one of the major factors that one should put into consideration as a student in order to achieve academic success.
• Being Rich Means Better Education and More Success This is because they managed to shake off the notion that the rich are the only ones who will have the chances of acquiring better education and being successful in life.
• The Success of Cirque du Soleil The success of this show led to the creation of other performances in a number of hotels and casinos in the region.
• The Bulgari Brand’s Diversification Success While the majority of data used to analyse the success of Bulgari’s use of diversification will be collected from secondary sources, primary research will be collected through an interview with the CEO of Bulgari, which […]
• IKEA: Its’ Success in the Internationalisation Process Globalization is generally understood today as the easy international movement of goods, services and information facilitated by the advances in information and communication technologies and transportation.
• The Impact of Goal Setting on Motivation and Success Correct goal setting is needed not only to determine the endpoint accurately but more importantly, it is to motivate and encourage an even faster and more efficient achievement of the goal by minimizing certainty and […]
• The Role of Management in Organizational Success The first section of the report outlines the significance of management in an organizations success. Moreover, the future success and performance of organizations is subject to the competence of the organizational leaders.
• Is University Education Necessary for Success? One of the greatest limitations of university education, which is also the main defense for critics of university education, is the fact that university education equips graduates with problem solving skills.
• Netcare Company’s Success One of the key competencies is organizational growth that has seen Netcare utilize the expertise in the market to break through both the private and the public health markets.
• Netflix Company’s Global Success and Opportunities Also, there is the need to repurchase the right to distribute some products, and the costs of content production tend to increase globally.
• Manchester United FC: Continuing Success but at What Cost? The support of Manchester United across the globe is also incredible and a contributing factor to the success of the club.
• Competitive Advantage and Business Success: McDonalds and Burger King The company values quality and embraces a wide variety of fast foods that are available in many outlets across the world. To do this, the company ensures that the costs of operations are at the […]
• The Grameen Bank’s Success The way the Grameen bank raised and the way it is currently operating is one of the biggest success stories to date of the micro-credit financial institute.
• Management as a Success Factor: Hewlett-Packard Case Study Example The name and the market structure of the company is strengthened by its effective management team who are able to make intervention on products, services and the general approach of the company.
• Virgin Group’s Strategic Development and Success It identifies that a strong brand name and high quality of products and services provide the company with an opportunity to remain one of the international leaders.
• The Example of Success in Life If we have a successful career that allows us to make more money, we will be happier. Being successful in our career also allows us to have more opportunities because we have more choices, as […]
• Airbnb Company Internationalization: Success and Challenges The paper will review case studies on Airbnb and relevant streams of literature with the aim of analysing the firm’s success as well as the challenges facing the company.
• How Companies Can Successfully Enter The French Fashion Industry Currently, the fashion industry is one of the economic sectors that are experiencing an increment in the rate of competition. This means that there is a high probability of the firms becoming established in the […]
• Lush’s Success: Background and Distribution Channels of Lush Apart from getting products from the chain of stores, Lush made it possible for the customers to make orders and buy products online.
• The Uber Company’s Financial Success Insights Uber’s ability to provide the desired choice to consumers at any time and meet the expectations of 10 minutes and lower has been key to its success.
• Psychology: Factors of Success in Life and Career One of the most researched elements about success is the factors that drive people to pursue it. Success is often associated with a positive mental attitude, which triggers the desire to be successful in whatever […]
• Etisalat’s Success in the UAE In order to understand the reasons for the success of the firm, the researcher sought to conduct a comprehensive analysis of Etisalat UAE by considering a number of issues.
• Blockbuster and Netflix Firms’ Failure and Success It is due to the presence of many employees of different cultures and the influx of young people into the ranks of the company’s employees.
• Ryanair Company: Success Factors and Strategies The purpose of this report is to analyze the case of the low-fares airline “Ryanair” and find out the answer to six specific questions from the case.
• Factors Affecting Academic Success Self-motivation and discipline are evaluated by determining the amount of time students devote to schoolwork, levels of commitment and engagement, and their willingness to learn new things in and out of class.
• Success and Money Correlation The development of the information technologies and the ongoing progress led to the reconsideration of the values and beliefs. It is significant to understand that there is no right or wrong answer for the question […]
• Emirates Airline: The Secrets of the Legends Success Young is of the view that one of the secrets of Emirates explosive growth in the region and in the world in general is the ability to manage both growth and service provision.
• “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by C. Dweck Carol Dweck, the author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, believes that it can. The growth mindset is something that can be acquired, and it can improve one’s quality of life.
• Home Depot Failure and IKEA Success in China Some people regard a “do-it-yourself” character of products to be the main reason for the low popularity of The Home Depot in China.
• Types of Speech Used in Everyday Life and Their Role for Achieving Academic Success As a college student with experience in making presentations and participating in various workshops, I consider the development of informative and professional speaking especially vital for my future career. In an academic setting, the most […]
• HR Management Skills and Organisational Survival & Success A manager’s knowledge of HRM is significant to the attainment of the organisation’s goals and objectives. It is created to promote and pursue the aims and objectives of an organisation.
• Project Management: Masdar City Project Success To determine whether the Masdar City site was a success it is important to evaluate what the goals of the project were, if it succeeded at them and if it met the criteria above.
• Google’s Corporate Culture and its Success The culture at Google fits all the needs and demands of the marketplace and the corporation itself. Through Google’s corporate architectural culture, the company has been capable of instituting individuality before the public and its […]
• Starbucks’ Success: Mission and Stakeholders Lastly, although Starbucks has been accused of tax evasion in the past, the company has ensured it adheres to the regulations of the governments in the countries in which it operates.
• Success or Failure of Democracy In terms of equality in democracy, Tocpeuville observes that this becomes the form of government in a democracy since no one becomes right than the other.
• Success: What Is Its True Meaning? It is perhaps far simpler to explain that success is the opposite of failure a word that means unsuccessful attempts to do things in life.
• Success: How Do You Define It? Often we consider the word success as the binary opposite of failure, and success of a person is measured largely based on the failure of someone else.
• BRL Hardy Company’s Post-Merger Success A number of issues are associated with the success of the company after the merger. The combination of the two organizational structures was one of the factors behind the success of the new company.
• Starbucks Company’s Reasons for Success Starbucks is committed to promoting ethical business practices and conserving the environment. The company seeks to maintain accuracy and truth in its dealings with government agencies in the countries in which it operates.
• Personal Responsibility as a Students Success Strategy One of the distinct characteristics of personal responsibility is the consciousness to fulfil personal promises. Students have to learn the art of personal responsibility in order to remain purposeful and focused.
• Personal Philosophy of Success In this essay, I shall define the success strategies that I have discovered and which I intend to use in the coming years to achieve success.
• Culture and Characteristics of Success or Failure The 21st century has been marked by the rise of a global market, which, on the other hand, has led to a worldwide economy that is based on that of all the states around the […]
• The Success Behind the Coca-Cola Company The third element of the business strategy the Coca-Cola Company is revenue maximization built on the understanding that financial soundness is the measure of a good and enduring business.
• Student Empowerment Program and Its Success The main goal of the empowerment program is to inspire and educate students to be better prepared for the challenges of globalization.
• Merger & Acquisition: Critical Success Factors The importance of mergers and acquisitions in the corporate world stems from their variable advantages, which include increased economies of scale, expansion of the economy of scope, increased revenues, increased market share, development of synergy, […]
• Failure and Success in Human Life Success if one of the major concerns of modern society, Nowadays, it serves as the main determiner of the significance of an individual and his/her position in society.
• IBM’s Success Factors, Competitors, SWOT Analysis Kotler shows that the CEO, who took up the management in the 21 century, modified IBM’s vision and strategy to correspond to the current situation by shifting it towards software rather than hardware and focusing […]
• Extent of Gazprom Company’s Success The entity has expanded the company’s markets reach from European markets to other parts of the world. The entity has also helped the company to monitor and respond to the ever-changing dynamic markets in energy […]
• AirAsia Company and Its Success The local advertisements made people aware of the company and its pricing, and this led to acknowledgment and popularity. Factors on the macro level are the locations and length of the flights that other airlines […]
• The Success of Carrefour Hypermarkets The locations include in shopping malls, shopping centres, airports and in emerging towns, depending with the location, the products that the company stocks varies.
• The Early Success of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) The products and services that the corporation offers reflect to the personal taste of the founder of the company, Martha. From simple beginnings, the company has grown to become one of the most viable corporations […]
• Hedge Fund Success Story: Renaissance Technologies LLC Whereas hedge funds have a similarity in regard to mutual funds since they both involve the collective investments of funds pooled by the investors, the two forms of funds differ because the market regulation authorities […]
• Management Theories and Success in Business Considering the expenses involved in scientific methods and other technical operations as well as the reluctance on the part of the workers, this theory was developed to control these two situations. Through provision of quality […]
• What Are Metrics of Company Success? One of the best ways to save excessive costs when transporting goods within the company’s activities is to optimize routes, that is, adjust them to calculations that correspond to the logic of the supply chain.
• Purdy Chocolatier: Reasons for Success For Purdy Chocolatier, it may be even more challenging as the company has been operating for a long period of time in Western Canada and decided to serve the customers of Eastern Canada as well. […]
• Achieving Success in America: Characteristics of Options In the book, The American Dream and the Popular Novel author Elizabeth Long argues, “The story of America has been the story of success”.
• Achieving Success in a Counseling Session I have experienced that the most favored solutions pertain to situations where the client is open to resourcefulness and motivation, which further depends on the competence level of the counselor or therapist and whether there […]
• The Success of the Underground Railroad The establishment of this clandestine movement was not initiated only by the slaves themselves but also through the help of sympathizers and other citizens who have the capacity to help.
• Optimistic Thinking Flues Success This is because the life we are living in is full of so many challenges and it’s only through optimism that we are in a position to see things into success.
• Banking Systems Success in Canada and Australia The first reason for this stability is that banks in Canada are more robust and strong in comparison to those, which are in the United States of America.
• Emotional Intelligence and Its Impact on Success As for me, I would define emotional intelligence as the ability to react to the situation in a proper way, to find the appropriate way out of a situation, and to make a decision successful […]
• Critical Success Factors for Entrepreneurs Consequently, the issue of entrepreneurial success factors is a significant problem because identification of these factors and their implementation by entrepreneurs is likely to increase the performance of the entrepreneurial activity and thus provide a […]
• The Role of Social Support in School’s Success In addition, social support ensures students do not deviate from the norms of learning and social order. However, parents and teachers should not compromise the value of education by pampering their children in the attempt […]
• Failure and Success in Teacher Career The utilization of these old ideas and resources in the current academic environment has also contributed to the failing of schools.
• Festival of Britain, Its History and Success The rationale behind it was to point to the reconstruction of London and the incorporation of futuristic buildings in the architecture of the city.
• Bill Gates’s Leadership and Success Factors In a world of rapidly changing economic situation, the role of a leader for a development of any company is of a great importance.
• “The Fallacy of Success” by G. K. Chesterton Chesterton, in his work The Fallacy of Success, also cogitates about this very issue, underlining the fact of uselessness of these books and outlining his own ideas connected with the issue of success.
• Corporate Social Responsibility is Integral to the Long-Term Success of Five-Star Hotels The CSR policies also contain corporate governance, which ensures that the hotels protect the rights of the investors. It is also notable that CSR practices contribute to sustainable growth of the hotels.
• The Keys to the Success of Dell Dell’s strategy of making sales directly to its clients has enabled it to acquire the position of the market leader in the US computer industry.
• Why Knowledge Management is important to the Success of Organizations Knowledge management involves the combination of different processes and strategies within an organization which integrates data and information technology as well as distributing of employees’ potential to help the organization achieve its objectives.
• Easyjet’s Success and Challenges The company had to do things differently by eliminating the services that customers dislike; after all, the low-income earners are not interested in the unnecessary services. This is because the airline has to make many […]
• Success factors in business These factors comprise of the leader, the team, the nature of the project being undertaken, the organization involved, and the external surrounding, including the administrative and socioeconomic conditions influencing their activities.
• Key Factors of Competitive Success in the Water Bottling Industry The introduction of enhanced or functional water products, by a number of major bottling firms such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, has provided further competition, threatening to squeeze profitability for them.
• Success of Amazon These areas are all related to the design of the website and how intuitive it was to respond quickly to the needs of the customers.
• Specsavers Company Success The main purpose of the presentation is to consider one of the companies which is rather successful at the market and to conduct its deep analysis.
• Success of Zappos in National and International Markets One year down the line, the company merged with Venture Frogs, which added an additional capital to the growing capital base of the company and jointly they adopted the name Zappos.
• The Success of Women’s Rights Movement They sought the equal treatment of women and men by law and fought for voting rights. The women’s rights movement was successful because they were united, had a strong ideological foundation, and organized campaigns on […]
• Maersk Line Company’s Social Media Success Factors The company selected and communicated the most desirable message to the targeted stakeholders. The head of social media encouraged the employees at the company to support the agenda.
• Carlos Ghosn and Renault-Nissan: Leading for Global Success Nissan being the second largest company in the automobile industry in Japan recorded a significant increment in their sales profit in the year 2006.
• SIA’s Main Ingredients of Success SIA’s success in the airline industry is owed to the various unique and quality services offered by the company. Therefore, dedication to quality and excellent services and adoption of a continuous service improvement strategy are […]
• What is a Support System and How it is Integral to Success as a Nursing Student? Proper support and guidance from my classroom professor will enable me to have enough rest. In the course of my education, various support systems would help me reduce mental anguish and improve my ability to […]
• Importance of Success in Teams for Organizations With six months of operation, we look forward to seeing what the future holds for the business through shared exchanges with team members.
• People’s Potential and Success Hard work implies the sacrifice of time and the associated rest and recreation, and many people will choose to avoid it.
• “Assessing E-Commerce Systems Success” by Yi-Shun Wang The main focus of the analyzed article can be successfully derived from its title that emphasizes the necessity of assessing the success of e-commerce systems and validity of the use of the model of IS […]
• Professor Wangari Maathai: Life and Success The academic attainment of her doctoral degree was also a celebrated achievement as she was the first woman in the whole of east African region to attain that award.
• Happiness and Success as a Life Meaning I find meaning in my life when I help people that I encounter in my life. This means that life, when a person follows the Christian rules, is full of spirituality and thus meaning.
• Google Company’s Success Industry analysts believe that the objective of crafting these cultures is to boost the innovative and creative capabilities of employees, not to mention the fact that they are also used to increase the success and […]
• Caterpillar Inc.’s Success Factors and Future Secondly, the company embraced change and adopted a business model and organizational structure that facilitated its recovery and growth. The company’s annual budget of $2 billion is evidence of its commitment to providing high quality […]
• Spanish Conquest on Americas: Success Factors The first viewpoint regarding the Spaniards conquest of the Americas on the Aztec Empire is the idea of Jared Diamond that environmental and geographical differences made the Americas lose the battle.
• James Dyson and His Success as an Entrepreneur The bag that was supposed to act as a catcher for all the dust that the vacuum sucked up kept on getting clogged up with dust making it necessary to stop the vacuum every once […]
• The Reasons of Yahoo’s Success Since the search industry depends of revenue from companies, any slight performance of these companies affects the performance of the entire industry.
• On the Success of Tawuniya Insurance Company It has managed to set new standards in the market of insurance, regularly introducing new products in the market that are responsive to the needs of the consumer.
• Factors influencing successful buyer–seller relationships Understanding the factors that influence the relationship between the buyer and the seller is of great importance in developing and maintaining such a relationship.
• McDonald’s Success It is necessary to note that McDonald’s has more chances to be out of its competitors’ reach in the long run as the corporation employs efficient strategies which help the company develop and meet needs […]
• International Success and Failures of Canada Goose Inc The recent agreement between Canada and the European Free Trade association is an example of how the company is succeeding in international markets. In recent years, the Japanese market has been flooded by products of […]
• Making an Office Paperless: Project Progress The purpose of this progress report is to give the background of the project to orient the client who is the company’s manager as to what the ongoing project is all about, the objectives of […]
• The Idea of Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for the Maritime Logistics Sector To demonstrate that IT is a CSF that is currently driving the maritime logistics sector a comparison is drawn between COSCO Group TNC and Wilh.
• College Success Skills: Prioritizing and Flexibility Since only a fraction of individuals is able to stay organized in the long run without guidance, a written plan is recommended to maximize the efficiency and keep track of the progress.
• Successful Management in Business By doing this, one is able to do the right thing at the right time. Also one should consider the opportunities and threats he is likely to face.
• Delayed Gratification is a Major Factor in Professional Success Resisting the lure of an immediate pleasure in expectation of a better payoff later is the definition of delayed gratification.
• Digital Technology and My Career Success The author has a positive view of the Digital Generation, as she believes that the Internet enables individuals to be “the actor, the collaborator, the initiator, the rememberer, the organizer”.
• Persuasion, Manipulation, Survival, Success at Work in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” Since the beginning of the play edited by Roma Gill, Brutus is presented as a character who is very close to Caesar and is a “great friend” of his.
• Golden Age of Islam: Inventions and Success in Science The achievements of the Muslim technology and science contributed to the development of the Western society and helped Europe come out of the Dark Ages.
• Philosophy Ideology of Success and Failure The right to success is personal and largely depends on the determination of the individual these are the views of Alain.
• Money, Success, and Relation Between Them In particular, the modern generation attaches so much importance to money in the sense that success and money are presumed to be one and the same thing.
• Success Factors and Leadership Strategies: Southwest Airlines and Emirates Airlines The comparison of Southwest Airlines and Emirates Airlines is a chance to comprehend how cultural and regional diversities may define the quality of services, improve the airline industry, and provide people with appropriate working conditions […]
• F1 Team’s Success: Management and Strategy Main causes of the problems experienced by the Ferrari in the early 1970 and how they overcome them The company had taken motor sport as a sporting activities and had invested minimal in the research […]
• Xerox: Innovation and Success One of the ways Xerox has been able to serve a large amount of customers is by creating business partners and offering comprehensive packages that include a number of services.
• Factors Influencing the Growth and Success of an Enterprise Although many experts indicate that as the firm ages the likelihood of it learning form its mistakes and thus succeeding are high, the multiplier effect of large business is low and this is a major […]
• Pringles’ Successful Strategy If the previous experiences of the consumer on a flavor were unfavorable, then the possibility of buying a different flavor would be high.
• Chanel and the Way to Success The start of the business was very usual; the recognizable brand had grown from a small shop in the downtown of Paris which introduced Chanel to the market which was not very hard to capture […]
• The Success of the Cheesecake Factory The factory provides services both to be consumed in the many outlets of the factory and take away services for customers who wish to enjoy the factory’s products at their homes.
• The Concept of Leadership in Organizational Success From the definition provided it is evident that leadership is of importance not only to the individual workers but the entire organization and ultimately to all other stakeholders.
• Flight Centre Success Factors However, the company was greatly affected in 1991 as a result of the Gulf War leading to the closure of the UK and US offices.
• A Significant Decline in Children’s Academic Success The problem to be solved in this research project is that students’ math skills in the ninth grade are inadequate for passing the minimum requirements of the FSA exam.
• Does the Adoption and Implementation of Strategy Guarantee an Organization’s Success? When the goals and objectives of the entire planning process are clear and understood, then it becomes simpler and clear to proceed into the other stage which is analyzing the current situation that the company […]
• American Values: The Pursuit of Success Nevertheless, the American mentality exists and is very different from the mentality of other countries. One of the key values of the American people is individuality: they are very proud of being self-sufficient.
• Leading and Lagging Indicators of Success The primary distinction between leading and lagging indicators is that although lagging indicators will disclose performance trends, leading indicators may be utilized to monitor if specific actions really affect an organization’s performance.
• Technology Strategy for Business Success In conclusion, while technology strategy can be a challenging and uncertain field, the key takeaways from the success stories of companies like Genentech, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook show that it is possible to navigate […]
• Alibaba’s Success: A Window Into the Future of Strategy Innovative companies also prioritize innovation and are not afraid to take chances to stay ahead of the competition. Fourth, innovative companies prioritize it and are prepared to take chances to stay ahead of the competition.
• Alibaba’s Success and the Future of Strategy This trust has allowed the organization to securely occupy a major portion of the e-commerce market and further diversify into other realms, such as cloud computing and digital payments. To conclude, Alibaba’s success reveals that […]
• The Aspects of the Zappos’ Company Success Meanwhile, Zappos was a private company, which made its most important decision to offer free shipping in spite of the data and costs.
• Graduate Study Success in Nursing Self-discipline in the nursing field will provide me with the strength to remain professional with my clients, even when one is ready to give up in life.
• Debenhams and ASOS Companies’ Success and Failure Following the failure of large British retailers, the obstacles that contributed to the downfall of Debenhams and the chances that Asos used to become successful should be of great interest to every investor.
• The Success of Pfizer in the Context of the Intrasystem Approach The success of Pfizer in the context of the intrasystem approach shows that the business decided to establish specialized departments with distinct leaders, allowing each team to have more defined objectives and outcomes.
• Elon Musk: Leadership, Financial Success, and the Future of Tesla Musk’s ability to increase Tesla’s product offerings and raise consumer expectations for the company’s goods was perhaps his biggest achievement. Financial situation of Tesla was eccentric and explosive akin to the character of its leader.
• Amazon’s Success: Online Shopping Psychology One of the many factors contributing to Amazon’s success is its thorough understanding of its consumers, which is shown in the layout of its website and the numerous innovations it has brought to online retail.
• How Has SIA’s Success Become Vulnerable? SIA’s success is becoming vulnerable due to the increasing customer demand, worsening business and competition environment, and internal organizational pressure. The employees lacked shared values and dedication to SIA’s quality service.
• The Secret Behind Rihanna’s Brand Success Therefore, the brand mainly targets meeting women’s needs and wants first.”Fenty sells lingerie with the idea that a woman is in charge of her body, and her personal life and has the right to choose.
• Social Darwinism and the Success or Failures of Individuals in the Society According to Darwin, while the fittest survive in nature, in human society such fitness is determined by the ability of people to adjust to the changing circumstances.
• Unveiling Nordstrom’s Success: The Power of Customer Experience Customers on their smart phones and associates behind sales counters see the same thing the entire inventory of Nordstrom’s stores is presented as one selection, which the company refers to as perpetual inventory.”Customer service is […]
• Strategies for Success in the Handbag Industry The more competitors there are and the number of similar commodities they offer, the less powerful a firm becomes. Generally, how valuable a company’s products are in the marketplace determines its ability to place a […]
• Scaling and Success of DevOps for Military HQDA Army G-4 is a special unit involved in the development and evaluation of logistics processes, programs, and policies for the national military sector.
• Japan’s Economy Success Factors The Prime Minister of Japan is in charge of most of the government. Japan’s economy is one of the biggest and fastest in the world.
• Content Area Reading: Preparing America’s Students for Success The reading associated with a specific content area includes the ideas and concepts necessary for these subjects; its text is also structured according to the rules of the field practitioners.
• Success of the Canadian Economy The next stage, work design, it is required managers to ensure that the success of the team is in its diversity and inclusion.
• Chick-Fil-A and Its Market Success The needs of the restaurant’s customers include the need for quality food, as well as relaxation, as the company positions itself as a family-type restaurant.
• Success and Failure of South Korea In conclusion, South Korea’s remarkable rise as a prosperous economy sown the seeds of the challenges it faces because the system was primed for rapid growth without ensuring it is resilient to its current failures.
• Employer Recruitment’s Role in Organizational Success This paper discusses the strategies associated with the recruitment of employers, how training and development of activities contribute to the success of an organization.
• Project Management: Determining Key Success Factors The focus on contingency planning appears to be beneficial to the framework that requires making decisions under the spur of the moment for several reasons.
• The Uber Firm’s Marketing Success Analysis However, Uber has found a way to adapt to the passenger transport market and is still one of the best services around the world.
• Women’s Success in Late 19th-Century Europe In the early 16th century, Women in Europe engaged in private and public activities associated with the theaters. Through the years, they have proven to be some of the most progressive personalities in the film, […]
• Prime Chocolate’s External Factors of Success In addition, the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic have significantly weakened precisely this positive feature of the influence of external factors on business. The inclusion of the company in the Fair Trade program reflects […]
• Prime Chocolate’s Internal Factors of Success In advancing and conquering the market, a company can focus on its strengths, including a complex pattern of personnel management and the use of hired labor.
• Marvel Entertainment’s Success Journey The purchase itself and the amount that Disney was ready to contribute indicates that its representatives recognized both the “financial viability and cultural power of the Marvel brand”.
• Zambia’s 2021 Elections: The Success of Opposition In the article for the Journal of Democracy titled “How Zambia’s Opposition Won,” Danielle Resnick explores the path that the population of the country had completed before the opposition finally won, symbolizing the drastic turn […]
• Zoom’s Success and Washington Prime Group’s Failure: Impact of the COVID-19 By the beginning of the second quarter of 2020, the internal operations of many business organizations changed due to the coronavirus pandemic and its consequences.
• Paul Tasner’s Success as an Entrepreneur This man’s example shows that regardless of an entrepreneur’s age, a successful business can be built based on a desire to change the world for the better and contribute to society.
• Analysis of Aretha Franklin’s Success She was born on March 25, 1942, and succumbed on August 16, 2018; the artist was a songwriter, a pianist, and the first to introduce soul music. Franklin’s father managed the artist’s work and supported […]
• Role of Causal Research in Success of ConFundrum Communication with people, online surveys, and interaction with regular customers are the elements of causal research to understand what ideas can be beneficial for new rooms.
• The Relationships Between Parents and Children and Keys to Their Success The key points, which people frequently neglect, are the need for parents to be nurturers, never-ending personal development, and the risks with which the prevalence of emotional motives for parenthood is associated.
• Evidence of the Success of Alcohol Prohibition in the United States in 1920 Consumption of alcoholic beverages considerably declined as a result of the enactment of prohibition in the United States. As a result, there was a considerable decrease in the number of alcohol-related diseases.
• Amazon’s Success Online and Its Main Reasons The second reason for the company’s online success is its competitive advantage in terms of price and service. For example, Amazon has developed a creative solution to promoting online shopping in India, where only 35% […]
• Techniques and Methods of Achieving Success
• ROI as a Tool to Understand the Success of a Particular Investment
• The Success of the US COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign
• Serial Crowdfunding, Social Capital and Project Success
• Kapiolani Community College: The Factors of Success
• Financial Strategies and Success of Organizational Mission
• Critical Thinking. Start-Up Success and Growth
• M-PESA: Critical Success Factors
• ViaBela: Online Business and Website Success
• Music Museums: Role and Success
• The Delayed Gratification: Fundamentals and Impact on Professional Success
• Patience as a Major Factor of Professional Success
• Student Success Strategies: Clinical Lesson Plan
• Organizational Health and Firm’s Success
• Google’s Success: Contributions to Google’s Success
• The United Arab Emirates Success in Yemen
• Success in Major and Career
• Does Spanish Hotel Need Intermediaries for Success?
• Project Initiation Document and Measuring Project Success
• Doing Business Internationally: Change and Success
• The Amazon Company’s Success Reasons
• Success: How to Parent?
• Relative Moral Theories vs. Universal Moral Theories in Team Success
• Predicting Medium-Term Success Among Alcohol and Opiate Dependents
• The Arab Spring: Between Success and Failure
• Business Networking for Graduate Career Success
• The Success of Saudi Arabian Airlines
• XCEL Study Program’s Impact on Student Success
• Aspects of Success of the Healthcare Team
• The American Dream and Success
• Meta-Analysis: The Critical Links of Success
• Employee Sharing: Problems Inhibiting Business Success
• Healthcare in Cuba: Reasons for Success
• A Road Map for Managed Care Success
• The Critical Success Factors for IPv6 Uptake and Likely Future
• Long Term Financial Success for Clubs
• Trails to Success: Bank of America
• Critical Success Factors for Health IT Professionals
• Managing Oneself: The Key to Success
• Windows vs Google. New Operating System as the Key to Success
• Phenomenal Success of August Wilson’s Fences Play
• 7 Steps to Success in Dual Language Immersion
• The Success of Homeschooling and How the Program Can Be Increased
• Success and Mistakes of Barack Obama’s Foreign Policy
• Success of Egypt in Yom Kippur War
• Logistics: The Dell Company’s Concept of Success
• The Triple Constraints: A Valid Set of Criteria to Measure IS-Project Success?” by Koen Milis
• Success Sales of Playstation 4 Consoles
• Learning Communities and Student Success
• SharePoint: Enhancing Practices & Student’s Success
• The Key Factors of Success in the Revolutionary War
• Phenomenon of Creativity and Success
• Organizational Success: Effective Employee Engagement
• Learning Environment and Student Success
• Factors Influencing the Success of Insurgencies
• Reasons of Success of Amateur Detective Fiction Authors
• The Success of Cheesecake Factory
• Supervision Change and School Success
• Key to Success in Life
• Fast Food Industry: Five Forces of Success
• Leadership Development Plan: Challenges & Success
• Company Success Due to the Organizational Concept
• The Extent of GATT’s Success
• How Close Is the Success of Suborbital Commercial Space Shuttles?
• Dimensions of National Culture and Formula for Business Success
• Success Secrets in “They Did You Can” by Finnigan
• Empires’ Success in Ancient World History
• Small Business Success Survey
• Distinct Lower Class Culture: An Impediment to Success
• The RIAA Success in Filing Lawsuits Against Illegal Downloading of Music
• Strategic Leadership: Ensuring Your Organization Success
• Parameters of Methadone Maintenance Treatment: Usability, Success and Limitations
• Cyrus and Dairus the Great’s Contribution to Persia’s Success
• The Contributions of Dwight Eisenhower to America’s Success in Their Space Exploration Efforts
• Costa Coffee: Quality as the Core of Success
• Firm’s Success and Ethical Behaviour Relations
• IKEA: People and Environment as Key Elements That Can Result Into Business Success in the Long Term
• The Role of Hospitability and Customer Relations in Business Success
• Success Rate of Movie Products: Product-Placement Planning
• Time Management: How Developing Professional Knowledge and Abilities Impact Career Success
• Issue of the Educational Success
• Right Leadership and Its Impact on the Company’s Success
• The Importance of Different Skills for Business Success
• Mercosur: A Road Towards Success or a Failed Attempt?
• Success of Vector Managed Inventory Programs
• Disney Corporation’s Success Evaluation
• Personal Definition of Success
• Organisational Effectiveness: Approaches to Measuring Success
• Toyota Motor Corp.: Reasons of Success
• IKEA’s Strategy Success Analysis
• E-Commerce: Analysis of Amazon Success
• The Success of AXE Cologne Commercial
• The Path to Success: Motivation, Business Structure
• Reasons for Success in International Management
• The Concept of Success From Different Aspects
• Success of Democracy in US: Comparative Approach for Explaining
• Issues of Tesla: Despite the Worldwide Success
• Individual Factors and Professional Success
• Personal Rules of Success
• Lifco and Spinneys Companies’ Success Histories
• Effective Group Work Counseling for Academic Success
• Communication Success in an Oil and Gas Company
• Assessing the Linkage Between the Success of H&M’s Organizational Performance
• The Success of India’s Economy
• Martin Luther King and Malcolm X: Who Is Closer to Success?
• Oral and Written Communication as a Success Factor
• Cultural and Systemic Factors of Success
• Best Buy Co.’s Success and Circuit City Firm’s Failure
• Collaborative Success Plan in Nursing
• Video Games: Budget and Success
• Group-Think at the Workplace: Plan for Success
• Business Email Writing: Plan for Success
• Success Factors: Psychological Research Findings
• Employee’s Personality Traits and Success
• UAE Public-Private Partnerships: Success Factors
• John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success and Leadership
• Cognition, Motivation and Success
• Success in the ENG101 Course
• Psychology: Success Strategies in Education and Life
• Benefits Management Practices for Project Success
• King.com’s Candy Crush Game’s Business Success
• Arab Spring: Its Success and Failure Factors
• “Principles of Innovation and Measuring Success” by Clay Christensen
• Determination & Perseverance: Failing Before Success
• Stress Management: Personal Success Plan
• Vladimir Putin: President’s Success
• The Success of Taglit-Birthright Israel Program
• Blue Design Management: Construction Project Success
• Payday Lending Industry and Its Success Factors
• Oprah Winfrey’s Success as a Leader
• Project Evaluation and Program Success Measurement
• Poundland Retailing Company’s Success Factors
• Critical Success Factors: Boss, I Think Someone Stole Our Data
• “Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell
• Media: Economic Impact versus Event Success
• Lean Supply Chains and Organisational Success
• Learning Success from Professional Perspectives
• Dividend as a Contribution the Business Success
• Improving Company Performance with New Corporate Culture
• Procurement Function’s Role in Company’s Success
• Emirates Airlines’ Cross-Cultural Cooperation and Success
• Tom Eyen’s “Dreamgirls”: Success and Failure
• Marketing Planning as an Essential Part of a Firm’s Success
• What Affects the Likelihood of Academic Success
• McDonald’s Company Analysis and Success
• Children’s Success Requirements in Parents’ Views
• Amy’s Ice Cream Company’s Success Factors
• Family Business: Success or Challenge?
• Tim Hortons vs. Starbucks: Companies Success
• Uber Technologies Inc.’s Way to Success
• LinkedIn Network’s Success and Functional Area
• Creative Strategy and Success in Business Enterprise
• Snapchat: Causes of Success
• Ads by National Society of Leadership and Success
• Student Success in Online, Mixed, Direct Courses
• Zillow Company’ Strategic Steps to Success
• “Outliers: The Story of Success” by M. Gladwell
• Community Policing, Its Success and Failure Factors
• Jeff Bezos and Gladwell’s Success Principles
• Audrey Hepburn and Gladwell’s Principle of Success
• Male Mating Success and Courtship Modalities
• Trulia Company’s Competencies and Success Factors
• Tourism Business and Its Success Factors
• Juvenile Reentry Programs and Their Success Rate
• Du Company’s Internal and External Success Factors
• Entrepreneurship: Justina Bright’s Success Factors
• Black Lives Matter Movement’s History and Success
• National Society of Leadership and Success: Marketing
• Pulse Nightclub Attack: Events and Success Factors
• Emirates Airlines: Success and Highest Quality Services
• Principles of Innovation and Measuring Success
• Henry Kissinger’s Success in Diplomatic Negotiations
• Hoopla Project’s Short-Term Gains and Success
• Kiwi International Air Lines, Its Success and Failure
• Dhahran Ahliyya Schools and Their Success Factors
• Organisational Success and Its Elements
• Madonna’s Sustainable Success
• Reconstruction History: Success or Failure?
• Unlocking Success: The Key Elements of Organizational Culture
• Literary Success of “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• Zara Company’s Business Model and Success Factors
• What Drives Advertising Success on Facebook?
• Salesperson’s & Sales Manager’s Traits for Success
• Grönefeld Company’s Economic Success Factors
• The Bill Shreeve Band and Its Success Factors
• Project Success and Interpersonal Conflicts
• Secrets for Japan’s Success
• Marketing Role in Success of Victoria’s Secret
• Disney California Company and Its Success
• Yahoos Company’s Strategic Management’ Success
• Michael Ignatieff: Success and Failure in Politics
• The One Company: Key to Success
• Strategic Management in the Business Organization Success
• Hollywood Success in the Film “Sunset Boulevard”
• Understanding the Obstacles to TQM Success
• Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe
• The War Finance Feature in Promoting Military Success
• Analysis of Giglamesh’ and Job’ Success and Suffering
• China’s Success in the Urbanization Process
• Newark Family Success Center
• Family Success Centre’s in Newark
• Emotional Intelligence as a Factor of Professional Success
• Project Planning and Project Success Relation
• Literature Review & Critique on Project Success
• Determinants of Success in the Swedish Food and Drink Industry
• WTO and Its Success in Jordan
• Importance of Marketing Functions in Organizational Success
• The Department of Homeland Security and its Impacts on the United States’ Emergency Preparedness: Success or Failure
• How Much Does the Success of E-Learning Depend on Changing Organizational Culture?
• Can Small Business Replicate Apple’s Success?
• Success in Interpersonal Communication
• Wal-Mart’s Extraordinary Success
• A Critical Debate on Key Management Success Factors for Various Sporting Events
• Success of the Chinese Economy
• THL Company Strategy Success
• The Success of Organizational Learning
• Organizational Learning in Western and Chinese Regions
• Critical Success Factors for the Implementation of System in the State of Qatar
• Key Success Factors of the Global Online Fashion Business
• Professional Development for Strategic Managers: Up the Ladder to Complete Success
• Cross Cultural Negotiation and Business Success
• Reflections on Achieving Career Success and Personal Fulfillment
• How to Define Project Success?
• Enterprise Resource Planning Integration Success
• Schwarzkopf’ Leadership Style and Success as a Military General
• “Jaguar Land Rover and HSBC Using CSR to Ensure Brand Success in China” by Andy Rice
• Keys to Success in Cross-Border Marketing
• Preparation for Academic Success at the Graduate Level
• Human Resources Management: The Key to Strategic Success
• Criteria Used in Assessing the Relative Success of a Family Business
• “Success Criteria and Factors for International Development Projects: A Life-Cycle-Based Framework” Khang and Moe
• 3 Leadership Aspects for Successful Organizational Collaboration
• Successful project of the Android
• Managers Roles in Determining the Organizations Success
• Land Rover Project Management: Failure and Success
• How do Religion, Culture and Ethnicity Affect the Success or Failure of a Global Enterprise in China?
• Importance of Quality Management System for Running a Successful Company
• Techniques Employed by Managers in Ensuring Success of Plans in their Firms
• Success of Canadian Economy
• The socioeconomic success of second generation immigrants
• Diamond Bank Plc Culture And Its Impact On The Success Of Set Strategies
• Phenomenon of Pixar’s Success
• Methods of Measuring Campaign Success
• The Balance Between Sustainable Construction and Project Success in the Current Economical Situation in the UK
• Business Transformation: Innovating New Strategies for the Success
• Construction Projects Success Factors
• Success in the Global Business Environment
• Successful Knowledge Worker Teams
• Success is an Individual’s Secret
• Managing Change for Competitive Success
• Change Management, BPR and successful ERP implementation
• Characteristics of Successful Teams
• Success Factors of Implementing E-Services Project
• What Makes a Successful Situation Comedy?
• The Success International Company
• Path Towards Future Success
• Images of Success and the Prefernce for Luxury Brands
• How Schuman Accounts for the Success and Failures of the Asian Model of Development
• The Major Obstacles to Success for College Students
• The successes of Applebee’s Grill and Bar
• The Way to Success in “Fifth Discipline” by Peter Senge
• Book Critique: “The Intentional Church: Moving From Church Success to Community Transformation” by Randy Pope
• Project Marketing to Improve Project Success
• Critical Factors of Executive Success: Steve Jobs
• Astonishing Success of Zara in the Fast Fashion Industry
• Project Success – Leadership Management
• The Reasons behind the Success of the 1949 Communist Revolution in China
• Successful Strategic Human Resource Planning
• Family Business and Its Governance
• What Entrepreneurs Should Do to Become Successful
• “5 Simple Tips for Successful Stock Trading” by Richard Band
• LensCrafters: Achieving Organizational Success
• Factors Affecting the Success of Mega-Events
• Project Success and Team Building
• Dyslexic Students: Success Factors for Support in a Learning Environment
• CRM Components and Success Factors
• Critical Success Factors for a CRM Program: A Discussion
• Corporate Branding Success
• Dollar General: Retail Outlet’s Success
• Intercultural Communication and Success at Work
• The Components of Restaurant Concept and the Unique Selling Points that Have Driven the Success of The Cheesecake Factory
• Successful Managers of Tomorrow Will Be the Ones Who Have a High Cultural Quotient
• Success Indicators for Hotel Managers
• EGoverment for Development: Success and Failure in eGoverment Projects
• HIMSS Organization Success
• The Role of Interactivity to the Success of Reality Television Shows
• Cultural Aspect as the Peculiarity of the Successful Business Strategy of Multinationals in Foreign Countries
• Google’s Growth Opportunities and Threats
• How Characteristics of Innovation Affect Success of a Product
• Strategic Management: Planning and Organisational Success
• Reasons for the Success of the Jewish Yishuv in 1947
• Why do Successful Companies Fail
• Acts 29 Network: Small Group Success
• Gym Website Design and Monetization
• A Successful Step Forward in the Educational Process
• Virgin Blue: Sustaining Success in Australia
• Components of success business
• The Road to Financial Success: “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki
• Major in Success: Make College Easier, Fire up Your Dreams, and Get a Great Job
• Human Resource Management’s Successful Strategies
• Google Success Strategy
• Five Approaches to the Successful Team Building
• Wal-Mart’s Management: The Art of Resource Optimization
• Successes and the Failures of the “Drug War”
• Wal-Mart Company Success
• Examining the critical success factors in the adoption of enterprise resource planning
• The Success of Dell Company
• Organization Studies as a Part of Business Success
• The success of a marketing strategy
• Moral Considerations: Determining the Organization’s Success
• Critical success factors for a CRM program
• E-Commerce in Developing Economies: Impact and Success Factors in China
• Critical Success Factors in the Maritime Logistics Sector
• Why Were Some Countries More Successful in Responding to the Challenge of European Imperialism Than Others?
• The Malayan Emergency Counter Insurgency Success
• Leadership Concepts That Are Vital Too Successful Quality Management Implementation
• How Can You Explain John Quincy Adam’s Great Success as Secretary of State and His Relative Lack of Success as President?
• Higher Education an Element to Success
• The IBM Company’s International Success
• What Are Some of the Product and Industry Characteristics Affecting EC Success?
• Success of Nike Products
• The Success of the Second Generation Immigrants
• The Role of Sheikh Mohammed in Financial Success of Dubai
• Success Story of Walt Disney
• McFarlane: Toying With Success
• The Elements of the O’Jays’ Success
• Apple Inc.: Success in the Competitive Electronic Industry
• The Success of Flight Centre
• The African American Rights Movement Success
• Generation of Unique Idea as a Success of the New Product Development Process
• The “Success” Term Concept
• Developing Professional Knowledge to Create Professional Success
• Range of Strategies and Success of the Business
• Success of Socrates’ Defense
• The Reconstruction: Success and Failure
• Teamwork as the Primary Determinant of Success
• Achievement, Success and Individualism
• Social Responsibility Role in the Business Success
• Success Behind the Southwest Airlines Co.
• Cultural Myth of Education as a Pathway to Success in America
• Einstein’s Success in “Einstein’s Dreams” by Alan Lightman
• US Economic Success: Rise of Capitalism
• On the Success of Becwin Printing, Inc.
• Nordstrom’s Success
• JetBlue Airways: The Story of Success
• Work-Related Stress: Impeding Organization’s Success
• ‘College-Ready for All: Preparing Students for Success’
• Profile of Mike’s Express Car Wash Success
• How Good Can Communication Skills Help a Person’s Success?
• Can Team Communication Alone Drive a Team to Success?
• What Factors Influence Success at Work?
• Are Inclusive Classrooms More Beneficial to Academic Success?
• Why Are the Arts Important for a Child’s Success?
• Why Are College Students Not Successful in College?
• What Explains the Success or Failure of Structural Adjustment Programmes?
• Can Women Achieve Success in the Workplace?
• How Does Marketing Effect the Success of a Company?
• How Can Gender Affect the Success of a Negotiation?
• How Can Hardship Help With Success in Life?
• Are High Grades Really Synonyms for Achieving Success?
• Why Are Good Communication Skills Vital for Career Success?
• Does Cultural Competence Affect the Success of International Strategies?
• Can Manufactured Bands Achieve Everlasting Success?
• Does Higher Education Lead to Financial Success?
• What Underpins Occupational Success?
• Why Can Branding Make a Difference in Local Small Business Success?
• Does Athletic Success Influence Persistence at Higher Education Institutions?
• Which Features Will Lead To Success in Life?
• Why Are Strong Writing Skills Essential to Your Success in Education?
• How Can Homework Help With Your Academic Success?
• Does Customer Interaction Enhance New Product Success?
• How Can Information Technology Improve Lifelong Business Success?
• Are Schools Pushing Students Towards Success or Distress?
• How Leadership and Management Skills Demonstrate Success?
• How Does Language Influence Success When Using Social Media?
• Can Failure Lead to Success?
• Why Are Employee Relations So Important for a Company’s Success?
• Are Managers the Key to Retention Success?
• Safety Essay Ideas
• Career Development Topics
• Happiness Research Ideas
• Procrastination Research Topics
• Self-Awareness Research Topics
• Teamwork Research Ideas
• Cognitive Development Essay Ideas
• Culture Topics
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Follow YES! For Teachers

Eight brilliant student essays on what matters most in life.

Read winning essays from our spring 2019 student writing contest.

For the spring 2019 student writing contest, we invited students to read the YES! article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age” by Nancy Hill. Like the author, students interviewed someone significantly older than them about the three things that matter most in life. Students then wrote about what they learned, and about how their interviewees’ answers compare to their own top priorities.

The Winners

From the hundreds of essays written, these eight were chosen as winners. Be sure to read the author’s response to the essay winners and the literary gems that caught our eye. Plus, we share an essay from teacher Charles Sanderson, who also responded to the writing prompt.

Middle School Winner: Rory Leyva

High School Winner:  Praethong Klomsum

University Winner:  Emily Greenbaum

Powerful Voice Winner: Amanda Schwaben

Powerful Voice Winner: Antonia Mills

Powerful Voice Winner:  Isaac Ziemba

Powerful Voice Winner: Lily Hersch

“Tell It Like It Is” Interview Winner: Jonas Buckner

From the Author: Response to Student Winners

Literary Gems

From A Teacher: Charles Sanderson

From the Author: Response to Charles Sanderson

Middle School Winner

Village Home Education Resource Center, Portland, Ore.

The Lessons Of Mortality 

“As I’ve aged, things that are more personal to me have become somewhat less important. Perhaps I’ve become less self-centered with the awareness of mortality, how short one person’s life is.” This is how my 72-year-old grandma believes her values have changed over the course of her life. Even though I am only 12 years old, I know my life won’t last forever, and someday I, too, will reflect on my past decisions. We were all born to exist and eventually die, so we have evolved to value things in the context of mortality.

One of the ways I feel most alive is when I play roller derby. I started playing for the Rose City Rollers Juniors two years ago, and this year, I made the Rosebud All-Stars travel team. Roller derby is a fast-paced, full-contact sport. The physicality and intense training make me feel in control of and present in my body.

My roller derby team is like a second family to me. Adolescence is complicated. We understand each other in ways no one else can. I love my friends more than I love almost anything else. My family would have been higher on my list a few years ago, but as I’ve aged it has been important to make my own social connections.

Music led me to roller derby.  I started out jam skating at the roller rink. Jam skating is all about feeling the music. It integrates gymnastics, breakdancing, figure skating, and modern dance with R & B and hip hop music. When I was younger, I once lay down in the DJ booth at the roller rink and was lulled to sleep by the drawl of wheels rolling in rhythm and people talking about the things they came there to escape. Sometimes, I go up on the roof of my house at night to listen to music and feel the wind rustle my hair. These unique sensations make me feel safe like nothing else ever has.

My grandma tells me, “Being close with family and friends is the most important thing because I haven’t

always had that.” When my grandma was two years old, her father died. Her mother became depressed and moved around a lot, which made it hard for my grandma to make friends. Once my grandma went to college, she made lots of friends. She met my grandfather, Joaquin Leyva when she was working as a park ranger and he was a surfer. They bought two acres of land on the edge of a redwood forest and had a son and a daughter. My grandma created a stable family that was missing throughout her early life.

My grandma is motivated to maintain good health so she can be there for her family. I can relate because I have to be fit and strong for my team. Since she lost my grandfather to cancer, she realizes how lucky she is to have a functional body and no life-threatening illnesses. My grandma tries to eat well and exercise, but she still struggles with depression. Over time, she has learned that reaching out to others is essential to her emotional wellbeing.  

Caring for the earth is also a priority for my grandma I’ve been lucky to learn from my grandma. She’s taught me how to hunt for fossils in the desert and find shells on the beach. Although my grandma grew up with no access to the wilderness, she admired the green open areas of urban cemeteries. In college, she studied geology and hiked in the High Sierras. For years, she’s been an advocate for conserving wildlife habitat and open spaces.

Our priorities may seem different, but it all comes down to basic human needs. We all desire a purpose, strive to be happy, and need to be loved. Like Nancy Hill says in the YES! Magazine article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” it can be hard to decipher what is important in life. I believe that the constant search for satisfaction and meaning is the only thing everyone has in common. We all want to know what matters, and we walk around this confusing world trying to find it. The lessons I’ve learned from my grandma about forging connections, caring for my body, and getting out in the world inspire me to live my life my way before it’s gone.

Rory Leyva is a seventh-grader from Portland, Oregon. Rory skates for the Rosebuds All-Stars roller derby team. She loves listening to music and hanging out with her friends.

High School Winner

Praethong Klomsum

  Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica, Calif.

Time Only Moves Forward

Sandra Hernandez gazed at the tiny house while her mother’s gentle hands caressed her shoulders. It wasn’t much, especially for a family of five. This was 1960, she was 17, and her family had just moved to Culver City.

Flash forward to 2019. Sandra sits in a rocking chair, knitting a blanket for her latest grandchild, in the same living room. Sandra remembers working hard to feed her eight children. She took many different jobs before settling behind the cash register at a Japanese restaurant called Magos. “It was a struggle, and my husband Augustine, was planning to join the military at that time, too.”

In the YES! Magazine article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” author Nancy Hill states that one of the most important things is “…connecting with others in general, but in particular with those who have lived long lives.” Sandra feels similarly. It’s been hard for Sandra to keep in contact with her family, which leaves her downhearted some days. “It’s important to maintain that connection you have with your family, not just next-door neighbors you talk to once a month.”

Despite her age, Sandra is a daring woman. Taking risks is important to her, and she’ll try anything—from skydiving to hiking. Sandra has some regrets from the past, but nowadays, she doesn’t wonder about the “would have, could have, should haves.” She just goes for it with a smile.

Sandra thought harder about her last important thing, the blue and green blanket now finished and covering

her lap. “I’ve definitely lived a longer life than most, and maybe this is just wishful thinking, but I hope I can see the day my great-grandchildren are born.” She’s laughing, but her eyes look beyond what’s in front of her. Maybe she is reminiscing about the day she held her son for the first time or thinking of her grandchildren becoming parents. I thank her for her time and she waves it off, offering me a styrofoam cup of lemonade before I head for the bus station.

The bus is sparsely filled. A voice in my head reminds me to finish my 10-page history research paper before spring break. I take a window seat and pull out my phone and earbuds. My playlist is already on shuffle, and I push away thoughts of that dreaded paper. Music has been a constant in my life—from singing my lungs out in kindergarten to Barbie’s “I Need To Know,” to jamming out to Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” in sixth grade, to BTS’s “Intro: Never Mind” comforting me when I’m at my lowest. Music is my magic shop, a place where I can trade away my fears for calm.

I’ve always been afraid of doing something wrong—not finishing my homework or getting a C when I can do better. When I was 8, I wanted to be like the big kids. As I got older, I realized that I had exchanged my childhood longing for the 48 pack of crayons for bigger problems, balancing grades, a social life, and mental stability—all at once. I’m going to get older whether I like it or not, so there’s no point forcing myself to grow up faster.  I’m learning to live in the moment.

The bus is approaching my apartment, where I know my comfy bed and a home-cooked meal from my mom are waiting. My mom is hard-working, confident, and very stubborn. I admire her strength of character. She always keeps me in line, even through my rebellious phases.

My best friend sends me a text—an update on how broken her laptop is. She is annoying. She says the stupidest things and loves to state the obvious. Despite this, she never fails to make me laugh until my cheeks feel numb. The rest of my friends are like that too—loud, talkative, and always brightening my day. Even friends I stopped talking to have a place in my heart. Recently, I’ve tried to reconnect with some of them. This interview was possible because a close friend from sixth grade offered to introduce me to Sandra, her grandmother.  

I’m decades younger than Sandra, so my view of what’s important isn’t as broad as hers, but we share similar values, with friends and family at the top. I have a feeling that when Sandra was my age, she used to love music, too. Maybe in a few decades, when I’m sitting in my rocking chair, drawing in my sketchbook, I’ll remember this article and think back fondly to the days when life was simple.

Praethong Klomsum is a tenth-grader at Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, California.  Praethong has a strange affinity for rhyme games and is involved in her school’s dance team. She enjoys drawing and writing, hoping to impact people willing to listen to her thoughts and ideas.

University Winner

Emily Greenbaum

Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 

The Life-Long War

Every morning we open our eyes, ready for a new day. Some immediately turn to their phones and social media. Others work out or do yoga. For a certain person, a deep breath and the morning sun ground him. He hears the clink-clank of his wife cooking low sodium meat for breakfast—doctor’s orders! He sees that the other side of the bed is already made, the dogs are no longer in the room, and his clothes are set out nicely on the loveseat.

Today, though, this man wakes up to something different: faded cream walls and jello. This person, my hero, is Master Chief Petty Officer Roger James.

I pulled up my chair close to Roger’s vinyl recliner so I could hear him above the noise of the beeping dialysis machine. I noticed Roger would occasionally glance at his wife Susan with sparkly eyes when he would recall memories of the war or their grandkids. He looked at Susan like she walked on water.

Roger James served his country for thirty years. Now, he has enlisted in another type of war. He suffers from a rare blood cancer—the result of the wars he fought in. Roger has good and bad days. He says, “The good outweighs the bad, so I have to be grateful for what I have on those good days.”

When Roger retired, he never thought the effects of the war would reach him. The once shallow wrinkles upon his face become deeper, as he tells me, “It’s just cancer. Others are suffering from far worse. I know I’ll make it.”

Like Nancy Hill did in her article “Three Things that Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” I asked Roger, “What are the three most important things to you?” James answered, “My wife Susan, my grandkids, and church.”

Roger and Susan served together in the Vietnam war. She was a nurse who treated his cuts and scrapes one day. I asked Roger why he chose Susan. He said, “Susan told me to look at her while she cleaned me up. ‘This may sting, but don’t be a baby.’ When I looked into her eyes, I felt like she was looking into my soul, and I didn’t want her to leave. She gave me this sense of home. Every day I wake up, she makes me feel the same way, and I fall in love with her all over again.”

Roger and Susan have two kids and four grandkids, with great-grandchildren on the way. He claims that his grandkids give him the youth that he feels slowly escaping from his body. This adoring grandfather is energized by coaching t-ball and playing evening card games with the grandkids.

The last thing on his list was church. His oldest daughter married a pastor. Together they founded a church. Roger said that the connection between his faith and family is important to him because it gave him a reason to want to live again. I learned from Roger that when you’re across the ocean, you tend to lose sight of why you are fighting. When Roger returned, he didn’t have the will to live. Most days were a struggle, adapting back into a society that lacked empathy for the injuries, pain, and psychological trauma carried by returning soldiers. Church changed that for Roger and gave him a sense of purpose.

When I began this project, my attitude was to just get the assignment done. I never thought I could view Master Chief Petty Officer Roger James as more than a role model, but he definitely changed my mind. It’s as if Roger magically lit a fire inside of me and showed me where one’s true passions should lie. I see our similarities and embrace our differences. We both value family and our own connections to home—his home being church and mine being where I can breathe the easiest.

Master Chief Petty Officer Roger James has shown me how to appreciate what I have around me and that every once in a while, I should step back and stop to smell the roses. As we concluded the interview, amidst squeaky clogs and the stale smell of bleach and bedpans, I looked to Roger, his kind, tired eyes, and weathered skin, with a deeper sense of admiration, knowing that his values still run true, no matter what he faces.

Emily Greenbaum is a senior at Kent State University, graduating with a major in Conflict Management and minor in Geography. Emily hopes to use her major to facilitate better conversations, while she works in the Washington, D.C. area.  

Powerful Voice Winner

Amanda Schwaben

Wise Words From Winnie the Pooh

As I read through Nancy Hill’s article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” I was comforted by the similar responses given by both children and older adults. The emphasis participants placed on family, social connections, and love was not only heartwarming but hopeful. While the messages in the article filled me with warmth, I felt a twinge of guilt building within me. As a twenty-one-year-old college student weeks from graduation, I honestly don’t think much about the most important things in life. But if I was asked, I would most likely say family, friendship, and love. As much as I hate to admit it, I often find myself obsessing over achieving a successful career and finding a way to “save the world.”

A few weeks ago, I was at my family home watching the new Winnie the Pooh movie Christopher Robin with my mom and younger sister. Well, I wasn’t really watching. I had my laptop in front of me, and I was aggressively typing up an assignment. Halfway through the movie, I realized I left my laptop charger in my car. I walked outside into the brisk March air. Instinctively, I looked up. The sky was perfectly clear, revealing a beautiful array of stars. When my twin sister and I were in high school, we would always take a moment to look up at the sparkling night sky before we came into the house after soccer practice.

I think that was the last time I stood in my driveway and gazed at the stars. I did not get the laptop charger from

my car; instead, I turned around and went back inside. I shut my laptop and watched the rest of the movie. My twin sister loves Winnie the Pooh. So much so that my parents got her a stuffed animal version of him for Christmas. While I thought he was adorable and a token of my childhood, I did not really understand her obsession. However, it was clear to me after watching the movie. Winnie the Pooh certainly had it figured out. He believed that the simple things in life were the most important: love, friendship, and having fun.

I thought about asking my mom right then what the three most important things were to her, but I decided not to. I just wanted to be in the moment. I didn’t want to be doing homework. It was a beautiful thing to just sit there and be present with my mom and sister.

I did ask her, though, a couple of weeks later. Her response was simple.  All she said was family, health, and happiness. When she told me this, I imagined Winnie the Pooh smiling. I think he would be proud of that answer.

I was not surprised by my mom’s reply. It suited her perfectly. I wonder if we relearn what is most important when we grow older—that the pressure to be successful subsides. Could it be that valuing family, health, and happiness is what ends up saving the world?

Amanda Schwaben is a graduating senior from Kent State University with a major in Applied Conflict Management. Amanda also has minors in Psychology and Interpersonal Communication. She hopes to further her education and focus on how museums not only preserve history but also promote peace.

Antonia Mills

Rachel Carson High School, Brooklyn, N.Y. 

Decoding The Butterfly

For a caterpillar to become a butterfly, it must first digest itself. The caterpillar, overwhelmed by accumulating tissue, splits its skin open to form its protective shell, the chrysalis, and later becomes the pretty butterfly we all know and love. There are approximately 20,000 species of butterflies, and just as every species is different, so is the life of every butterfly. No matter how long and hard a caterpillar has strived to become the colorful and vibrant butterfly that we marvel at on a warm spring day, it does not live a long life. A butterfly can live for a year, six months, two weeks, and even as little as twenty-four hours.

I have often wondered if butterflies live long enough to be blissful of blue skies. Do they take time to feast upon the sweet nectar they crave, midst their hustling life of pollinating pretty flowers? Do they ever take a lull in their itineraries, or are they always rushing towards completing their four-stage metamorphosis? Has anyone asked the butterfly, “Who are you?” instead of “What are you”? Or, How did you get here, on my windowsill?  How did you become ‘you’?

Humans are similar to butterflies. As a caterpillar

Suzanna Ruby/Getty Images

becomes a butterfly, a baby becomes an elder. As a butterfly soars through summer skies, an elder watches summer skies turn into cold winter nights and back toward summer skies yet again.  And as a butterfly flits slowly by the porch light, a passerby makes assumptions about the wrinkled, slow-moving elder, who is sturdier than he appears. These creatures are not seen for who they are—who they were—because people have “better things to do” or they are too busy to ask, “How are you”?

Our world can be a lonely place. Pressured by expectations, haunted by dreams, overpowered by weakness, and drowned out by lofty goals, we tend to forget ourselves—and others. Rather than hang onto the strands of our diminishing sanity, we might benefit from listening to our elders. Many elders have experienced setbacks in their young lives. Overcoming hardship and surviving to old age is wisdom that they carry.  We can learn from them—and can even make their day by taking the time to hear their stories.  

Nancy Hill, who wrote the YES! Magazine article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” was right: “We live among such remarkable people, yet few know their stories.” I know a lot about my grandmother’s life, and it isn’t as serene as my own. My grandmother, Liza, who cooks every day, bakes bread on holidays for our neighbors, brings gifts to her doctor out of the kindness of her heart, and makes conversation with neighbors even though she is isn’t fluent in English—Russian is her first language—has struggled all her life. Her mother, Anna, a single parent, had tuberculosis, and even though she had an inviolable spirit, she was too frail to care for four children. She passed away when my grandmother was sixteen, so my grandmother and her siblings spent most of their childhood in an orphanage. My grandmother got married at nineteen to my grandfather, Pinhas. He was a man who loved her more than he loved himself and was a godsend to every person he met. Liza was—and still is—always quick to do what was best for others, even if that person treated her poorly. My grandmother has lived with physical pain all her life, yet she pushed herself to climb heights that she wasn’t ready for. Against all odds, she has lived to tell her story to people who are willing to listen. And I always am.

I asked my grandmother, “What are three things most important to you?” Her answer was one that I already expected: One, for everyone to live long healthy lives. Two, for you to graduate from college. Three, for you to always remember that I love you.

What may be basic to you means the world to my grandmother. She just wants what she never had the chance to experience: a healthy life, an education, and the chance to express love to the people she values. The three things that matter most to her may be so simple and ordinary to outsiders, but to her, it is so much more. And who could take that away?

Antonia Mills was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and attends Rachel Carson High School.  Antonia enjoys creative activities, including writing, painting, reading, and baking. She hopes to pursue culinary arts professionally in the future. One of her favorite quotes is, “When you start seeing your worth, you’ll find it harder to stay around people who don’t.” -Emily S.P.  

  Powerful Voice Winner

   Isaac Ziemba

Odyssey Multiage Program, Bainbridge Island, Wash. 

This Former State Trooper Has His Priorities Straight: Family, Climate Change, and Integrity

I have a personal connection to people who served in the military and first responders. My uncle is a first responder on the island I live on, and my dad retired from the Navy. That was what made a man named Glen Tyrell, a state trooper for 25 years, 2 months and 9 days, my first choice to interview about what three things matter in life. In the YES! Magazine article “The Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” I learned that old and young people have a great deal in common. I know that’s true because Glen and I care about a lot of the same things.

For Glen, family is at the top of his list of important things. “My wife was, and is, always there for me. My daughters mean the world to me, too, but Penny is my partner,” Glen said. I can understand why Glen’s wife is so important to him. She’s family. Family will always be there for you.

Glen loves his family, and so do I with all my heart. My dad especially means the world to me. He is my top supporter and tells me that if I need help, just “say the word.” When we are fishing or crabbing, sometimes I

think, what if these times were erased from my memory? I wouldn’t be able to describe the horrible feeling that would rush through my mind, and I’m sure that Glen would feel the same about his wife.

My uncle once told me that the world is always going to change over time. It’s what the world has turned out to be that worries me. Both Glen and I are extremely concerned about climate change and the effect that rising temperatures have on animals and their habitats. We’re driving them to extinction. Some people might say, “So what? Animals don’t pay taxes or do any of the things we do.” What we are doing to them is like the Black Death times 100.

Glen is also frustrated by how much plastic we use and where it ends up. He would be shocked that an explorer recently dived to the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean—seven miles!— and discovered a plastic bag and candy wrappers. Glen told me that, unfortunately, his generation did the damage and my generation is here to fix it. We need to take better care of Earth because if we don’t, we, as a species, will have failed.

Both Glen and I care deeply for our families and the earth, but for our third important value, I chose education and Glen chose integrity. My education is super important to me because without it, I would be a blank slate. I wouldn’t know how to figure out problems. I wouldn’t be able to tell right from wrong. I wouldn’t understand the Bill of Rights. I would be stuck. Everyone should be able to go to school, no matter where they’re from or who they are.  It makes me angry and sad to think that some people, especially girls, get shot because they are trying to go to school. I understand how lucky I am.

Integrity is sacred to Glen—I could tell by the serious tone of Glen’s voice when he told me that integrity was the code he lived by as a former state trooper. He knew that he had the power to change a person’s life, and he was committed to not abusing that power.  When Glen put someone under arrest—and my uncle says the same—his judgment and integrity were paramount. “Either you’re right or you’re wrong.” You can’t judge a person by what you think, you can only judge a person from what you know.”

I learned many things about Glen and what’s important in life, but there is one thing that stands out—something Glen always does and does well. Glen helps people. He did it as a state trooper, and he does it in our school, where he works on construction projects. Glen told me that he believes that our most powerful tools are writing and listening to others. I think those tools are important, too, but I also believe there are other tools to help solve many of our problems and create a better future: to be compassionate, to create caring relationships, and to help others. Just like Glen Tyrell does each and every day.

Isaac Ziemba is in seventh grade at the Odyssey Multiage Program on a small island called Bainbridge near Seattle, Washington. Isaac’s favorite subject in school is history because he has always been interested in how the past affects the future. In his spare time, you can find Isaac hunting for crab with his Dad, looking for artifacts around his house with his metal detector, and having fun with his younger cousin, Conner.     

Lily Hersch

 The Crest Academy, Salida, Colo.

The Phone Call

Dear Grandpa,

In my short span of life—12 years so far—you’ve taught me a lot of important life lessons that I’ll always have with me. Some of the values I talk about in this writing I’ve learned from you.

Dedicated to my Gramps.

In the YES! Magazine article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” author and photographer Nancy Hill asked people to name the three things that mattered most to them. After reading the essay prompt for the article, I immediately knew who I wanted to interview: my grandpa Gil.      

My grandpa was born on January 25, 1942. He lived in a minuscule tenement in The Bronx with his mother,

father, and brother. His father wasn’t around much, and, when he was, he was reticent and would snap occasionally, revealing his constrained mental pain. My grandpa says this happened because my great grandfather did not have a father figure in his life. His mother was a classy, sharp lady who was the head secretary at a local police district station. My grandpa and his brother Larry did not care for each other. Gramps said he was very close to his mother, and Larry wasn’t. Perhaps Larry was envious for what he didn’t have.

Decades after little to no communication with his brother, my grandpa decided to spontaneously visit him in Florida, where he resided with his wife. Larry was taken aback at the sudden reappearance of his brother and told him to leave. Since then, the two brothers have not been in contact. My grandpa doesn’t even know if Larry is alive.         

My grandpa is now a retired lawyer, married to my wonderful grandma, and living in a pretty house with an ugly dog named BoBo.

So, what’s important to you, Gramps?

He paused a second, then replied, “Family, kindness, and empathy.”

“Family, because it’s my family. It’s important to stay connected with your family. My brother, father, and I never connected in the way I wished, and sometimes I contemplated what could’ve happened.  But you can’t change the past. So, that’s why family’s important to me.”

Family will always be on my “Top Three Most Important Things” list, too. I can’t imagine not having my older brother, Zeke, or my grandma in my life. I wonder how other kids feel about their families? How do kids trapped and separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border feel?  What about orphans? Too many questions, too few answers.

“Kindness, because growing up and not seeing a lot of kindness made me realize how important it is to have that in the world. Kindness makes the world go round.”

What is kindness? Helping my brother, Eli, who has Down syndrome, get ready in the morning? Telling people what they need to hear, rather than what they want to hear? Maybe, for now, I’ll put wisdom, not kindness, on my list.

“Empathy, because of all the killings and shootings [in this country.] We also need to care for people—people who are not living in as good circumstances as I have. Donald Trump and other people I’ve met have no empathy. Empathy is very important.”

Empathy is something I’ve felt my whole life. It’ll always be important to me like it is important to my grandpa. My grandpa shows his empathy when he works with disabled children. Once he took a disabled child to a Christina Aguilera concert because that child was too young to go by himself. The moments I feel the most empathy are when Eli gets those looks from people. Seeing Eli wonder why people stare at him like he’s a freak makes me sad, and annoyed that they have the audacity to stare.

After this 2 minute and 36-second phone call, my grandpa has helped me define what’s most important to me at this time in my life: family, wisdom, and empathy. Although these things are important now, I realize they can change and most likely will.

When I’m an old woman, I envision myself scrambling through a stack of storage boxes and finding this paper. Perhaps after reading words from my 12-year-old self, I’ll ask myself “What’s important to me?”

Lily Hersch is a sixth-grader at Crest Academy in Salida, Colorado. Lily is an avid indoorsman, finding joy in competitive spelling, art, and of course, writing. She does not like Swiss cheese.

  “Tell It Like It Is” Interview Winner

Jonas Buckner

KIPP: Gaston College Preparatory, Gaston, N.C.

Lessons My Nana Taught Me

I walked into the house. In the other room, I heard my cousin screaming at his game. There were a lot of Pioneer Woman dishes everywhere. The room had the television on max volume. The fan in the other room was on. I didn’t know it yet, but I was about to learn something powerful.

I was in my Nana’s house, and when I walked in, she said, “Hey Monkey Butt.”

I said, “Hey Nana.”

Before the interview, I was talking to her about what I was gonna interview her on. Also, I had asked her why I might have wanted to interview her, and she responded with, “Because you love me, and I love you too.”

Now, it was time to start the interview. The first

question I asked was the main and most important question ever: “What three things matter most to you and you only?”

She thought of it very thoughtfully and responded with, “My grandchildren, my children, and my health.”

Then, I said, “OK, can you please tell me more about your health?”

She responded with, “My health is bad right now. I have heart problems, blood sugar, and that’s about it.” When she said it, she looked at me and smiled because she loved me and was happy I chose her to interview.

I replied with, “K um, why is it important to you?”

She smiled and said, “Why is it…Why is my health important? Well, because I want to live a long time and see my grandchildren grow up.”

I was scared when she said that, but she still smiled. I was so happy, and then I said, “Has your health always been important to you.”

She responded with “Nah.”

Then, I asked, “Do you happen to have a story to help me understand your reasoning?”

She said, “No, not really.”

Now we were getting into the next set of questions. I said, “Remember how you said that your grandchildren matter to you? Can you please tell me why they matter to you?”

Then, she responded with, “So I can spend time with them, play with them, and everything.”

Next, I asked the same question I did before: “Have you always loved your grandchildren?” 

She responded with, “Yes, they have always been important to me.”

Then, the next two questions I asked she had no response to at all. She was very happy until I asked, “Why do your children matter most to you?”

She had a frown on and responded, “My daughter Tammy died a long time ago.”

Then, at this point, the other questions were answered the same as the other ones. When I left to go home I was thinking about how her answers were similar to mine. She said health, and I care about my health a lot, and I didn’t say, but I wanted to. She also didn’t have answers for the last two questions on each thing, and I was like that too.

The lesson I learned was that no matter what, always keep pushing because even though my aunt or my Nana’s daughter died, she kept on pushing and loving everyone. I also learned that everything should matter to us. Once again, I chose to interview my Nana because she matters to me, and I know when she was younger she had a lot of things happen to her, so I wanted to know what she would say. The point I’m trying to make is that be grateful for what you have and what you have done in life.

Jonas Buckner is a sixth-grader at KIPP: Gaston College Preparatory in Gaston, North Carolina. Jonas’ favorite activities are drawing, writing, math, piano, and playing AltSpace VR. He found his passion for writing in fourth grade when he wrote a quick autobiography. Jonas hopes to become a horror writer someday.

From The Author: Responses to Student Winners

Dear Emily, Isaac, Antonia, Rory, Praethong, Amanda, Lily, and Jonas,

Your thought-provoking essays sent my head spinning. The more I read, the more impressed I was with the depth of thought, beauty of expression, and originality. It left me wondering just how to capture all of my reactions in a single letter. After multiple false starts, I’ve landed on this: I will stick to the theme of three most important things.

The three things I found most inspirational about your essays:

You listened.

You connected.

We live in troubled times. Tensions mount between countries, cultures, genders, religious beliefs, and generations. If we fail to find a way to understand each other, to see similarities between us, the future will be fraught with increased hostility.

You all took critical steps toward connecting with someone who might not value the same things you do by asking a person who is generations older than you what matters to them. Then, you listened to their answers. You saw connections between what is important to them and what is important to you. Many of you noted similarities, others wondered if your own list of the three most important things would change as you go through life. You all saw the validity of the responses you received and looked for reasons why your interviewees have come to value what they have.

It is through these things—asking, listening, and connecting—that we can begin to bridge the differences in experiences and beliefs that are currently dividing us.

Individual observations

Each one of you made observations that all of us, regardless of age or experience, would do well to keep in mind. I chose one quote from each person and trust those reading your essays will discover more valuable insights.

“Our priorities may seem different, but they come back to basic human needs. We all desire a purpose, strive to be happy, and work to make a positive impact.” 

“You can’t judge a person by what you think , you can only judge a person by what you know .”

Emily (referencing your interviewee, who is battling cancer):

“Master Chief Petty Officer James has shown me how to appreciate what I have around me.”

Lily (quoting your grandfather):

“Kindness makes the world go round.”

“Everything should matter to us.”

Praethong (quoting your interviewee, Sandra, on the importance of family):

“It’s important to always maintain that connection you have with each other, your family, not just next-door neighbors you talk to once a month.”

“I wonder if maybe we relearn what is most important when we grow older. That the pressure to be successful subsides and that valuing family, health, and happiness is what ends up saving the world.”

“Listen to what others have to say. Listen to the people who have already experienced hardship. You will learn from them and you can even make their day by giving them a chance to voice their thoughts.”

I end this letter to you with the hope that you never stop asking others what is most important to them and that you to continue to take time to reflect on what matters most to you…and why. May you never stop asking, listening, and connecting with others, especially those who may seem to be unlike you. Keep writing, and keep sharing your thoughts and observations with others, for your ideas are awe-inspiring.

I also want to thank the more than 1,000 students who submitted essays. Together, by sharing what’s important to us with others, especially those who may believe or act differently, we can fill the world with joy, peace, beauty, and love.

We received many outstanding essays for the Winter 2019 Student Writing Competition. Though not every participant can win the contest, we’d like to share some excerpts that caught our eye:

Whether it is a painting on a milky canvas with watercolors or pasting photos onto a scrapbook with her granddaughters, it is always a piece of artwork to her. She values the things in life that keep her in the moment, while still exploring things she may not have initially thought would bring her joy.

—Ondine Grant-Krasno, Immaculate Heart Middle School, Los Angeles, Calif.

“Ganas”… It means “desire” in Spanish. My ganas is fueled by my family’s belief in me. I cannot and will not fail them. 

—Adan Rios, Lane Community College, Eugene, Ore.

I hope when I grow up I can have the love for my kids like my grandma has for her kids. She makes being a mother even more of a beautiful thing than it already is.

—Ashley Shaw, Columbus City Prep School for Girls, Grove City, Ohio

You become a collage of little pieces of your friends and family. They also encourage you to be the best you can be. They lift you up onto the seat of your bike, they give you the first push, and they don’t hesitate to remind you that everything will be alright when you fall off and scrape your knee.

— Cecilia Stanton, Bellafonte Area Middle School, Bellafonte, Pa.

Without good friends, I wouldn’t know what I would do to endure the brutal machine of public education.

—Kenneth Jenkins, Garrison Middle School, Walla Walla, Wash.

My dog, as ridiculous as it may seem, is a beautiful example of what we all should aspire to be. We should live in the moment, not stress, and make it our goal to lift someone’s spirits, even just a little.

—Kate Garland, Immaculate Heart Middle School, Los Angeles, Calif. 

I strongly hope that every child can spare more time to accompany their elderly parents when they are struggling, and moving forward, and give them more care and patience. so as to truly achieve the goal of “you accompany me to grow up, and I will accompany you to grow old.”

—Taiyi Li, Lane Community College, Eugene, Ore.

I have three cats, and they are my brothers and sisters. We share a special bond that I think would not be possible if they were human. Since they do not speak English, we have to find other ways to connect, and I think that those other ways can be more powerful than language.

—Maya Dombroskie, Delta Program Middle School, Boulsburg, Pa.

We are made to love and be loved. To have joy and be relational. As a member of the loneliest generation in possibly all of history, I feel keenly aware of the need for relationships and authentic connection. That is why I decided to talk to my grandmother.

—Luke Steinkamp, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio

After interviewing my grandma and writing my paper, I realized that as we grow older, the things that are important to us don’t change, what changes is why those things are important to us.

—Emily Giffer, Our Lady Star of the Sea, Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.

The media works to marginalize elders, often isolating them and their stories, and the wealth of knowledge that comes with their additional years of lived experiences. It also undermines the depth of children’s curiosity and capacity to learn and understand. When the worlds of elders and children collide, a classroom opens.

—Cristina Reitano, City College of San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif.

My values, although similar to my dad, only looked the same in the sense that a shadow is similar to the object it was cast on.

—Timofey Lisenskiy, Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica, Calif.

I can release my anger through writing without having to take it out on someone. I can escape and be a different person; it feels good not to be myself for a while. I can make up my own characters, so I can be someone different every day, and I think that’s pretty cool.

—Jasua Carillo, Wellness, Business, and Sports School, Woodburn, Ore. 

Notice how all the important things in his life are people: the people who he loves and who love him back. This is because “people are more important than things like money or possessions, and families are treasures,” says grandpa Pat. And I couldn’t agree more.

—Brody Hartley, Garrison Middle School, Walla Walla, Wash.  

Curiosity for other people’s stories could be what is needed to save the world.

—Noah Smith, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio

Peace to me is a calm lake without a ripple in sight. It’s a starry night with a gentle breeze that pillows upon your face. It’s the absence of arguments, fighting, or war. It’s when egos stop working against each other and finally begin working with each other. Peace is free from fear, anxiety, and depression. To me, peace is an important ingredient in the recipe of life.

—JP Bogan, Lane Community College, Eugene, Ore.

From A Teacher

Charles Sanderson

Wellness, Business and Sports School, Woodburn, Ore. 

The Birthday Gift

I’ve known Jodelle for years, watching her grow from a quiet and timid twelve-year-old to a young woman who just returned from India, where she played Kabaddi, a kind of rugby meets Red Rover.

One of my core beliefs as an educator is to show up for the things that matter to kids, so I go to their games, watch their plays, and eat the strawberry jam they make for the county fair. On this occasion, I met Jodelle at a robotics competition to watch her little sister Abby compete. Think Nerd Paradise: more hats made from traffic cones than Golden State Warrior ball caps, more unicorn capes than Nike swooshes, more fanny packs with Legos than clutches with eyeliner.

We started chatting as the crowd chanted and waved six-foot flags for teams like Mystic Biscuits, Shrek, and everyone’s nemesis The Mean Machine. Apparently, when it’s time for lunch at a robotics competition, they don’t mess around. The once-packed gym was left to Jodelle and me, and we kept talking and talking. I eventually asked her about the three things that matter to her most.

She told me about her mom, her sister, and her addiction—to horses. I’ve read enough of her writing to know that horses were her drug of choice and her mom and sister were her support network.

I learned about her desire to become a teacher and how hours at the barn with her horse, Heart, recharge her when she’s exhausted. At one point, our rambling conversation turned to a topic I’ve known far too well—her father.

Later that evening, I received an email from Jodelle, and she had a lot to say. One line really struck me: “In so many movies, I have seen a dad wanting to protect his daughter from the world, but I’ve only understood the scene cognitively. Yesterday, I felt it.”

Long ago, I decided that I would never be a dad. I had seen movies with fathers and daughters, and for me, those movies might as well have been Star Wars, ET, or Alien—worlds filled with creatures I’d never know. However, over the years, I’ve attended Jodelle’s parent-teacher conferences, gone to her graduation, and driven hours to watch her ride Heart at horse shows. Simply, I showed up. I listened. I supported.

Jodelle shared a series of dad poems, as well. I had read the first two poems in their original form when Jodelle was my student. The revised versions revealed new graphic details of her past. The third poem, however, was something entirely different.

She called the poems my early birthday present. When I read the lines “You are my father figure/Who I look up to/Without being looked down on,” I froze for an instant and had to reread the lines. After fifty years of consciously deciding not to be a dad, I was seen as one—and it felt incredible. Jodelle’s poem and recognition were two of the best presents I’ve ever received.

I  know that I was the language arts teacher that Jodelle needed at the time, but her poem revealed things I never knew I taught her: “My father figure/ Who taught me/ That listening is for observing the world/ That listening is for learning/Not obeying/Writing is for connecting/Healing with others.”

Teaching is often a thankless job, one that frequently brings more stress and anxiety than joy and hope. Stress erodes my patience. Anxiety curtails my ability to enter each interaction with every student with the grace they deserve. However, my time with Jodelle reminds me of the importance of leaning in and listening.

In the article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age” by Nancy Hill, she illuminates how we “live among such remarkable people, yet few know their stories.” For the last twenty years, I’ve had the privilege to work with countless of these “remarkable people,” and I’ve done my best to listen, and, in so doing, I hope my students will realize what I’ve known for a long time; their voices matter and deserve to be heard, but the voices of their tias and abuelitos and babushkas are equally important. When we take the time to listen, I believe we do more than affirm the humanity of others; we affirm our own as well.

Charles Sanderson has grounded his nineteen-year teaching career in a philosophy he describes as “Mirror, Window, Bridge.” Charles seeks to ensure all students see themselves, see others, and begin to learn the skills to build bridges of empathy, affinity, and understanding between communities and cultures that may seem vastly different. He proudly teaches at the Wellness, Business and Sports School in Woodburn, Oregon, a school and community that brings him joy and hope on a daily basis.

From   The Author: Response to Charles Sanderson

Dear Charles Sanderson,

Thank you for submitting an essay of your own in addition to encouraging your students to participate in YES! Magazine’s essay contest.

Your essay focused not on what is important to you, but rather on what is important to one of your students. You took what mattered to her to heart, acting upon it by going beyond the school day and creating a connection that has helped fill a huge gap in her life. Your efforts will affect her far beyond her years in school. It is clear that your involvement with this student is far from the only time you have gone beyond the classroom, and while you are not seeking personal acknowledgment, I cannot help but applaud you.

In an ideal world, every teacher, every adult, would show the same interest in our children and adolescents that you do. By taking the time to listen to what is important to our youth, we can help them grow into compassionate, caring adults, capable of making our world a better place.

Your concerted efforts to guide our youth to success not only as students but also as human beings is commendable. May others be inspired by your insights, concerns, and actions. You define excellence in teaching.

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What Is Success?

A personal perspective: success involves making an attempt and learning..

Posted January 30, 2022 | Reviewed by Abigail Fagan

When I was in seventh grade, I was given an assignment in school to write a paper about success. My title was “Success is Simply Happiness .” When I told that to my father at the dinner table on the night before the paper was due, he put down his fork, looked directly at me, and said, “All of my buddies in World War II did not die happy. Are you telling me they were not successful?” In my mind, I thought about changing the title to “Just Don’t Die,” but instead I sat in silence with the rest of my siblings, knowing this moment definitely was not happy, and thus my title, nor my paper, were a success.

I think possibly what I learned from that dinner is that success does not equal happiness, nor does happiness mean success.

Ever since then, the question about the definition of success has been in my mind. While I was a reporter for the student paper in college, I wrote an article about “What is Success?” I interviewed several students and most of them had my early childhood definition: Happiness. So I would ask them, “Are you happy when you’re studying?” “Are you happy when negative circumstances happen that eventually bring happiness?” The unanimous answer was, “Hmmm.”

Our mayor at the time in Cincinnati was Jerry Springer. He was also our commencement speaker. I had an interview scheduled with him on the day of Homecoming and I was excited to ask him how he defined success. When we got together, he asked if we could come back and do the interview later because he had an urgent meeting to attend. I am ashamed to say I went back to the fraternity, got drunk and missed our interview. C’mon. It was homecoming! Needless to say, it was not a successful day.

So what is success? That is one of the most beautiful explorations that each individual can make. The dictionary defines it as, “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.” Thus, each person must recognize his/her own goal and purpose. However, I believe that the journey is the destination. The questions are the journey. Goals change. They might be achieved, discarded, or abruptly interrupted. The blessing is that new goals are always waiting. So is the dictionary wrong in saying that success is an accomplishment?

Success for me is learning, not necessarily achieving, but making an attempt and learning. Success is continuing the journey. It will only be achieved when we die. Perhaps success is no regrets, and will be determined on our death beds.

So ironically, my thought about changing the title of my seventh-grade paper to “Just Don’t Die,” should have been, “Just Wait Till You Die.” Or possibly, the title should have been, “Keep Your Fork.”

Knocking the “F” out of Failure

Success blooms from failures along the journey.

“Learn to fail, or fail to learn.” —Thomas Edison

There is such a huge difference between failing and being a failure. Ironically, failing makes you less of a failure. You can only grow from failing. If you’re not willing to fail, you cannot innovate and make change. If you don’t step through the uncertainty of making an attempt, you will never achieve success.

Failure and success are exactly the same direction.

That is why the journey is the reward, and success is taking the journey, not the end result.

Remember that each step is progress. Each step, no matter how small, gets easier than the last. Soon they will become giant strides. Each time we adapt to change, it allows us to adapt sooner and more productively the next time. Even when mistakes happen along the road, those mistakes come from the courage of taking a step. Every time you take that one small step, you are stepping further away from the fear . Take pride in those steps! As you move past the fear, you begin to appreciate and feel accomplishment and joy. The answer is not in finding your goal, but learning to enjoy the search. Enjoy the search! How can you make it fun?

One of my all-time favorite expressions is:

“Life is not about the door that will open or the door that closed. It is about enjoying the hell in the hallway.”

In taking the next small step, always remember that it might be the wrong step. That’s ok. The important part of any step is the insight that follows. Not the result, but the lesson. In school, they call learning “lessons.” Learning is the lesson. Life is about learning.

Eventually, with work and progress, our fears and our darkness will become what we are most proud of. Our scars are symbols of courage and growth. They represent our passion.

Bill Kavanagh is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, currently living in Palm Springs, California, specializing in addiction, major illness, LGBTQ, and anyone struggling to find meaning and purpose.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Success — How to Become Successful in Life

How to Become Successful in Life

• Categories: Success

About this sample

Words: 842 |

Published: Sep 16, 2023

Words: 842 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Table of contents

Embarking on self-awareness and personal development, building robust networks and relationships, fostering a mindset of lifelong learning and adaptability.

• Carnegie, Dale. "How to Win Friends and Influence People." Simon and Schuster, 1936.
• Dweck, Carol S. "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success." Ballantine Books, 2006.
• Robbins, Tony. "Awaken the Giant Within." Free Press, 1991.
• Sinek, Simon. "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action." Portfolio, 2009.

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Essays About Life: Top 5 Examples Plus 7 Prompts

Life envelops various meanings; if you are writing essays about life, discover our comprehensive guide with examples and prompts to help you with your essay.

What is life? You can ask anyone; I assure you, no two people will have the same answer. How we define life relies on our beliefs and priorities. One can say that life is the capacity for growth or the time between birth and death. Others can share that life is the constant pursuit of purpose and fulfillment. Life is a broad topic that inspires scholars, poets, and many others. It stimulates discussions that encourage diverse perspectives and interpretations. 

5 Essay Examples

1. essay on life by anonymous on toppr.com, 2. the theme of life, existence and consciousness by anonymous on gradesfixer.com, 3. compassion can save life by anonymous on papersowl.com, 4. a life of consumption vs. a life of self-realization by anonymous on ivypanda.com, 5. you only live once: a motto for life by anonymous on gradesfixer.com, 1. what is the true meaning of life, 2. my life purpose, 3. what makes life special, 4. how to appreciate life, 5. books about life, 6. how to live a healthy life, 7. my idea of a perfect life.

“…quality of Life carries huge importance. Above all, the ultimate purpose should be to live a meaningful life. A meaningful life is one which allows us to connect with our deeper self.”

The author defines life as something that differentiates man from inorganic matter. It’s an aspect that processes and examines a person’s actions that develop through growth. For some, life is a pain because of failures and struggles, but it’s temporary. For the writer, life’s challenges help us move forward, be strong, and live to the fullest. You can also check out these essays about utopia .

“… Kafka defines the dangers of depending on art for life. The hunger artist expresses his dissatisfaction with the world by using himself and not an external canvas to create his artwork, forcing a lack of separation between the artist and his art. Therefore, instead of the art depending on the audience, the artist depends on the audience, meaning when the audience’s appreciation for work dwindles, their appreciation for the artist diminishes as well, leading to the hunger artist’s death.”

The essay talks about “ A Hunger Artist ” by Franz Kafka, who describes his views on life through art. The author analyzes Kafka’s fictional main character and his anxieties and frustrations about life and the world. This perception shows how much he suffered as an artist and how unhappy he was. Through the essay, the writer effectively explains Kafka’s conclusion that artists’ survival should not depend on their art.

“Compassion is that feeling that we’ve all experienced at some point in our lives. When we know that there is someone that really cares for us. Compassion comes from that moment when we can see the world through another person’s eyes.”

The author is a nurse who believes that to be professional, they need to be compassionate and treat their patients with respect, empathy, and dignity. One can show compassion through small actions such as talking and listening to patients’ grievances. In conclusion, compassion can save a person’s life by accepting everyone regardless of race, gender, etc.

“… A life of self-realization is more preferable and beneficial in comparison with a life on consumption. At the same time, this statement may be objected as person’s consumption leads to his or her happiness.”

The author examines Jon Elster’s theory to find out what makes a person happy and what people should think and feel about their material belongings. The essay mentions a list of common activities that make us feel happy and satisfied, such as buying new things. The writer explains that Elster’s statement about the prevalence of self-realization in consumption will always trigger intense debate.

“Appreciate the moment you’ve been given and appreciate the people you’ve been given to spend it with, because no matter how beautiful or tragic a moment is, it always ends. So hold on a little tighter, smile a little bigger, cry a little harder, laugh a little louder, forgive a little quicker, and love a whole lot deeper because these are the moments you will remember when you’re old and wishing you could rewind time.”

This essay explains that some things and events only happen once in a person’s life. The author encourages teenagers to enjoy the little things in their life and do what they love as much as they can. When they turn into adults, they will no longer have the luxury to do whatever they want.

The author suggests doing something meaningful as a stress reliever, trusting people, refusing to give up on the things that make you happy, and dying with beautiful memories. For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers .

7 Prompts for Essays About Life

Life encompasses many values and depends on one’s perception. For most, life is about reaching achievements to make themselves feel alive. Use this prompt to compile different meanings of life and provide a background on why a person defines life as they do.

Take Joseph Campbell’s, “Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning, and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer,” for example. This quote pertains to his belief that an individual is responsible for giving life meaning. 

For this prompt, share with your readers your current purpose in life. It can be as simple as helping your siblings graduate or something grand, such as changing a national law to make a better world. You can ask others about their life purpose to include in your essay and give your opinion on why your answers are different or similar.

Life is a fascinating subject, as each person has a unique concept. How someone lives depends on many factors, such as opportunities, upbringing, and philosophies. All of these elements affect what we consider “special.”

Share what you think makes life special. For instance, talk about your relationships, such as your close-knit family or best friends. Write about the times when you thought life was worth living. You might also be interested in these essays about yourself .

Life in itself is a gift. However, most of us follow a routine of “wake up, work (or study), sleep, repeat.” Our constant need to survive makes us take things for granted. When we endlessly repeat a routine, life becomes mundane. For this prompt, offer tips on how to avoid a monotonous life, such as keeping a gratitude journal or traveling.

Many literary pieces use life as their subject. If you have a favorite book about life, recommend it to your readers by summarizing the content and sharing how the book influenced your outlook on life. You can suggest more than one book and explain why everyone should read them.

For example, Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist” reminds its readers to live in the moment and never fear failure.

To be healthy doesn’t only pertain to our physical condition. It also refers to our mental, spiritual, and emotional well-being. To live a happy and full life, individuals must strive to be healthy in all areas. For this prompt, list ways to achieve a healthy life. Section your essay and present activities to improve health, such as eating healthy foods, talking with friends, etc.

No one has a perfect life, but describe what it’ll be like if you do. Start with the material things, such as your house, clothes, etc. Then, move to how you connect with others. In your conclusion, answer whether you’re willing to exchange your current life for the “perfect life” you described and why.  See our essay writing tips to learn more!

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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Success Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on success.

Success Essay- In today’s world everyone wants to be successful but what is a success. The perspective of success varies from person to person. For the record, the people before us have a different view on success and the person after us will have a different view on success.

Moreover, people compare different people performance to evaluate their success. But success is not something that you can copy from others. You have to make your own path to achieving success. In modern-day, people are obsessed with success because of the glamour and lifestyle of successful people .

What formulates a person successful?

There are many ways in the world to be successful. But most people think of celebrities, artist, politicians, and businessmen whenever they heard the word success.

Moreover, they think doing what they will make you successful but that not the case. They forget the most basic thing that makes a person successful that is their hard work, dedication, and the desire to achieve their dream. More importantly, they what they like to do not what that others told them to do. Successful people do what they like to do also they do what they feel correct for their business.

If you look in the dictionary for the meaning of the word success then you will find that it means the achievement of one’s goal or aim . So, basically, anyone can achieve success by simply achieving their aim or goal.

What is the harm of success?

We all knew that we can’t achieve something without sacrificing something. Success also demands various things from you. But these sacrifices will not go in vain if you achieve your goal.

Certainly, many people achieve professional success but in doing so they fail in achieving mental, social and physical success. The tension of lacking behind in other things pulls them apart.

Also, there are cases where people became so obsessed with success that the people around them start to feel uncomfortable around them. In some cases, they have gone mad. Apart from that, people also get depressed if they can’t achieve success like others. So, we can say that there is much harm to success.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Success and hard work

It may sound unfit to some peoples but success depends a lot of hard work. Without it, you can’t become successful. Hard work does not mean that you do laborious work or the work that make you sweat. Hard work means having a healthy body, strong mind, willpower and positive attitude towards things. And for all those things you need energy. So, be attentive to your body and soul.

Besides, do not just work on your program, push your limit, take charge of other things, improve your skills and most importantly keep learning. Apart from that, be with positive peoples, develop positive habits, and do exercise not only for the body but also for your mind.

To sum it up, we can say that success is like a seed that needs a balanced proportion of all the elements of life. And no one can achieve success in a day they have to go through and face different conditions in life for being successful. Above all, success is the feeling of fulfillment that you feel when you achieve your goal.

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Greater Good Science Center • Magazine • In Action • In Education

The Four Keys to a Meaningful Life

Could pursuing meaning be the path to true happiness?

We at Greater Good have written often about the differences between a happy life and a meaningful life and found that the two are closely related. When we aim for a life of meaningful pursuits, we are likely to feel more sustained happiness and life satisfaction—even if there is some discomfort, sadness, or stress along the way—than if we aim for a life of pleasure alone. In fact, seeking happiness directly may actually backfire , while pursuing meaning may increase our health and well-being .

Now a new book takes a stab at figuring out just what pursuing a meaningful life entails. In The Power of Meaning , journalist Emily Esfahani Smith draws from the texts of great writers and philosophers—Emerson, Aristotle, Buddha, and Victor Frankl, for example—as well as interviews with everyday people seeking to increase meaning in their lives, to try to distill what’s central in this pursuit. The book, though only loosely tied to research, is mostly an engaging read about how people find meaning in life through “four pillars” of meaning.

1. Belonging. When we are understood, recognized, and affirmed by friends, family members, partners, colleagues, and even strangers, we feel we belong to a community. Results from some studies —as well as end-of-life conversations —indicate that many people count their relationships as the most meaningful part of their lives, even when those relationships are difficult or strained.

2. Purpose. When we have long-term goals in life that reflect our values and serve the greater good, we tend to imbue our activities with more meaning. Researcher Adam Grant has found that professions focused on helping others—teachers, surgeons, clergy, and therapists—all tend to rate their jobs as more meaningful, and that people who imbue their work with purpose are more dedicated to their jobs . Having purpose has also been tied to many positive outcomes, including increased learning for students in school and better health .

3. Storytelling. When it comes to finding meaning, it helps to try to pull particularly relevant experiences in our lives into a coherent narrative that defines our identity. People who describe their lives as meaningful tend to have redemptive stories where they overcame something negative, and to emphasize growth, communion with others, and personal agency. Laura Kray and colleagues found that asking people to consider paths not taken in life and the consequences of those choices imbued experiences with more meaning .

4. Transcendence. Experiences that fill us with awe or wonder—ones in which “we feel we have risen above the everyday world to experience a higher reality,” according to Smith— can decrease our self-focus and lead us to engage in more generous, helpful behavior . It may seem counterintuitive in some ways; but the diminishment of our own self-importance can induce a sense of meaning, she says.

Smith’s book aims to be somewhat prescriptive, offering practices that could encourage meaning in your own life. For example, at work you may want to practice acknowledging coworkers, engaging in personal interactions, and offering support to others when they need it, using these “high-quality connections” to increase your sense of belonging. You may also want to redefine the tasks of your job to fit your motives, strengths, and passions— a strategy recommended by organizational scholar Jane Dutton and colleagues .

Or, if you feel stuck, you may want to spend time creating a life narrative —an understanding of what experiences shaped you into the person you are now—with a redemptive storyline, perhaps through expressive writing practice or through working with a therapist. Or, you may want to find ways to experience more awe in your life, spending time in nature, staring at the stars, experiencing profound works of art, or pondering heroic figures.

Though her book is more focused on stories and philosophy than research, Smith does at least offer new ideas in an area that was once primarily the purview of spiritual traditions. She argues that pursuing meaning can be healing, not only for those of us with mild existential malaise, but for those who’ve suffered trauma or are facing their own mortality.

Her book is a call to recognize our place in the world—perhaps most importantly by nurturing our relationships and serving others—so that we bring more meaning to our lives.

“Each of us has a circle of people—in our families, in our communities, and at work—whose lives we can improve,” she writes. “That’s a legacy everyone can leave behind.”

About the Author

Jill Suttie

Jill Suttie, Psy.D. , is Greater Good ’s former book review editor and now serves as a staff writer and contributing editor for the magazine. She received her doctorate of psychology from the University of San Francisco in 1998 and was a psychologist in private practice before coming to Greater Good .

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Essay on Qualities of a Successful Person

Students are often asked to write an essay on Qualities of a Successful Person in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Qualities of a Successful Person

Introduction.

A successful person is not defined by wealth alone. Success is about achieving personal goals, being happy, and contributing to society. Let’s explore some qualities of a successful person.

Hard work is crucial. Successful people understand that effort is required to achieve goals. They are not afraid of challenges or failures.

Resilience is another key. Success often comes after numerous failures. Successful people learn from their mistakes and keep trying.

Positive Attitude

A positive attitude helps in overcoming obstacles. Successful people are optimistic and believe in their abilities.

These qualities are essential for success. Cultivate them to achieve your life goals.

250 Words Essay on Qualities of a Successful Person

Success is a subjective term, varying from person to person. However, certain qualities are universally recognized as key indicators of a successful individual. These include resilience, self-awareness, and adaptability among others.

Resilience is the ability to bounce back from failures and setbacks. Successful people are not immune to failures, but they possess the mental fortitude to learn from these experiences and continue forward. They view obstacles not as insurmountable barriers, but as opportunities for growth and learning.

Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is another hallmark of success. It involves understanding one’s strengths, weaknesses, emotions, and motivations. Successful people are introspective, continually examining their actions and decisions. This self-awareness allows them to make informed choices, align their actions with their values, and continuously improve themselves.

Adaptability

In a rapidly changing world, adaptability is a crucial trait for success. Successful people are open to new ideas and are able to adjust their strategies and plans to suit changing circumstances. They are not rigid in their thinking or approach, but rather, they embrace change and innovation.

While there are many qualities that can contribute to a person’s success, resilience, self-awareness, and adaptability stand out as particularly important. These qualities enable individuals to navigate the challenges of life, learn from their experiences, and continually adapt to new circumstances. Therefore, cultivating these qualities is a worthwhile endeavor for anyone seeking to achieve success.

500 Words Essay on Qualities of a Successful Person

Success is a multifaceted concept, often defined differently by different people. Some perceive it as financial prosperity, while others view it as achieving personal goals or attaining inner peace. Regardless of the definition, there are certain qualities that successful people universally share. This essay will delve into some of these qualities.

Self-Discipline

One of the most important qualities of a successful person is self-discipline. It is the ability to control one’s impulses, emotions, desires, and behavior. It is what separates the successful from the unsuccessful. Successful people understand the importance of consistency and persistence in their actions. They do not let immediate gratification distract them from their long-term goals.

Resilience is another critical quality. Success is not always a smooth journey; it is often fraught with failures and setbacks. Successful people are those who can withstand these challenges and bounce back stronger. They view failures not as the end but as stepping stones towards success. They learn from their mistakes and use them to improve and grow.

Successful people are invariably passionate about what they do. This passion fuels their drive and determination to succeed. It gives them the energy to put in the hard work and the patience to wait for the results. They love what they do, and this love propels them towards their goals.

Curiosity and Continuous Learning

Successful individuals are inherently curious. They have an insatiable desire to learn and grow. They understand that the world is constantly evolving, and to stay ahead, they must continually update their knowledge and skills. They are open to new ideas and perspectives, and they actively seek opportunities for learning and development.

Integrity is a fundamental quality of successful people. They are honest and ethical in their dealings. They believe in fairness and justice. They uphold their values and principles, even when it is difficult or inconvenient. Their actions are guided by a strong moral compass, and they earn respect and trust through their integrity.

Empathy and Emotional Intelligence

Successful people have high emotional intelligence. They are aware of their emotions and those of others. They can manage their emotions effectively and use them to guide their actions. They are empathetic and understanding, which helps them build strong relationships and networks.

In conclusion, success is not merely about wealth or fame. It is about fulfilling one’s potential and making a positive impact. The qualities of self-discipline, resilience, passion, curiosity, integrity, and emotional intelligence are key to achieving this success. They are not innate but can be developed and nurtured over time. As we strive for success, we should endeavor to cultivate these qualities within ourselves.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

• Essay on Qualities of a Good Person
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Essay on How to be Successful in Life

Every person in this world wants to attain something in life. It might be that somebody wants to become a dancer, singer, environmentalist, banker, etc. The choices vary according to the individual. It is easy to dream and imagine being successful in our life but the journey of this victory is really a challenging one. There are many successful people in the world but every one of them has infinite effort and dedication in becoming successful.

Short and Long Essay on How to be Successful in Life in English

The most important question that arises in our minds is how we can be successful in our life. This is a commonly asked topic in exams for writing an essay on it. Many students find it difficult in writing essays on this topic. In the same reference, I have provided essays on this topic. I think it might benefit the students in getting an idea about writing an essay, project, or assignment on this topic.

10 Lines Essay on How to be Successful in Life (100 – 120 Words)

1) Success is something everyone strives for to get a good life.

2) Hard work will help you to achieve success in life.

3) Confidence is another factor that will help you to be successful.

4) To be successful in life, you should not fear failure.

5) Determination and dedication are required to be successful.

6) You will achieve success if you don’t lose sight of your goal.

7) Keep trying and never quit to reach success.

8) You will be successful in life if you believe in yourself.

9) Continuous practice and patience will help you to become successful.

10) Motivation is required at every step to reach the peak of success.

How to be Successful Essay – 250 Words

Introduction

We all have some goals in our life. Success is the ultimate thing that we require in any work that we do in our life. This can be achieved only with hard work and determination. Success gives us immense pleasure and satisfaction in our life.

Success requires sacrifice

We all want to be successful in any work that we do in our life. Success gives great pleasure and contentment to us. The process of being successful is not as easy as it is to say. It requires great sacrifice and hard work. We need to reduce our comforts and work with greater determination to attain success in our life. The most important thing that we need to inculcate in our lives is time management that helps us in doing our work on time. It is always said in order to gain something in life we have to lose something. The desire for success becomes more interesting when it starts giving challenges to us. Later when we become successful we feel that the struggle that we have done earlier is now fruitful. Being successful is one of the most beautiful experiences of life.

Failures should never be treated as hindrances in the path of success

We all make effort to be successful in accomplishing our goals in life. This makes us happy and provides encouragement to move forward in our life. Many times it happens that people face failure in their first step of success. It does not mean that we should stop doing efforts and become hopeless. The act of being hopeless and depressed takes us far away from success. Failure always states that there is a mistake in our effort and therefore we must learn from our failure instead of making it a hindrance in the path of success.

Success requires patience as it is not attained in a short period of time. We must believe in doing an effort and results will surely be fruitful.

How to be Successful Person – Long Essay (1100 Words)

We all are attracted by people achieving success in different fields. Many of the successful people are also the role models for many people and students in the society. The act of being successful is not as easy as it is in saying or seeing others. It is only we who can make our way towards becoming successful in our life.

What is Meant by Success?

Success is something that is can be achieved by making the best use of our abilities and the resources that we have. Success isn’t very easy as spelled but requires greater patience. It totally depends upon us that how we want to shape of life and carrier. Every person in this world has a different opinion regarding the word success in his/her life. It is the real satisfaction and happiness that one gets after achieving the goal of life. Success brings happiness to our lives and motivates us to do our best. We all dream of becoming successful in life, but success is only achieved by people who are really concerned about it.

Few Ways of becoming Successful in Life

We all are born with some purpose in our life. It is because life without a significant goal is meaningless. We all understand ourselves and our abilities in a better way than anyone else. The utilization of our own ability in getting our goals accomplished makes us successful in our life. Here are some tips that can help you in becoming successful in your life.

Recognize your passion or goal – Everybody in this world is born with a unique talent. It is most essential for you to recognize your passion. Passion in doing any work gives you inner happiness and satisfaction. If you identify your passion and work accordingly the path of your success becomes clear. For example, if you have a talent for dancing and want to make it your carrier then you need to focus on polishing your dancing skill. This can only make you a successful dancer in your life. In other words, it can be said that it is essential to recognize the goal of your life and work upon it till it makes you shine.

Have the courage to accept failure – There are many challenges in the way of success. The people who are really serious about their passion or dreams make their way by facing challenges. It may happen that you might face failure in life while proceeding towards being successful. You must not lose hope but try to find out your mistakes that had been behind getting failure. According to our former President Dr. Abdul Kalam, the word FAIL means First Attempt in Learning. Failure is always accompanied by success. It makes you realize and learn from your mistakes. It is necessary that you must never panic about failure and have the courage to accept it. Success is a long process and therefore you need to have patience in you. This will surely make you successful in your life.

Hard work – It is always said that there is no substitute for hard work in getting success. People who are talented from birth also need to work hard in their life to become successful. Hard work helps you sharpening your passion and skill. You really have to become extraordinary for becoming successful in your life.

Stay motivated – In no condition, you must forget about your goal in life. As you have seen a spider even after the destruction of its web it again starts weaving a new one without losing hope. There must be something in your life that might remind you about your goal every time. This will make you more motivated for doing hard work for achieving your goal. The picture of your goal must be in front of your eyes every time either you are slept or awake. You may write some quotations or draw and paste them on your room wall so that whenever you enter your room you must get energized once again. Motivation is a very essential key factor for becoming successful in our life.

Be disciplined and time-bounded – Discipline and time management is most important for attaining success in life. Living a disciplined life helps you to concentrate towards the goal of your life. After deciding on your goal you need to do proper planning for accomplishing it. You have to make time management for everything you do in your life. It is because time is most precious and if lost can never be regained. Opportunity only knocks once and you must not let it go in vain. Therefore the right decision at right time can only make the journey of life a successful one.

Does being Successful mean being Able to Earn a Lot of Money?

Money and success both are important for an individual. We all have some goals in our life and after accomplishing them we get a good carrier and earn a good amount of money. It is true that money is necessary for everything in your life but only money can never provide you happiness. In my opinion, every highly earning person is not really a successful one. The real meaning of being successful is getting happiness and satisfaction in life after being able to do that what you love to do in life.

A child getting good marks in the examination is a success, getting your dream job is a success, being able to fulfill your dreams is a success. The act of fulfilling your dreams makes you very happy and is the real meaning of success. There are many people in this world who earn money by wrong means and therefore they are rich enough. It does not mean that they are successful. Thus there is a great difference between being able to earn a lot of money and being successful. Richness is not the right way of measuring success. Successful people can earn good money along with respect in society.

Success is aspired by everyone in this world but only a few people become capable of tasting real success. Everything is possible in this world and people are making it happen. In the same way, becoming successful is difficult but not impossible. It requires several sacrifices, hard work, dedication, time management. The people who are focused and have a keen desire to make their dream come true can surely become successful in their life.

FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

Ans . Real success means fulfilling your dream goal of your life that you love doing.

Ans . The habit of being honest with oneself is most important for becoming successful.

Ans . We have to leave our comforts and concentrate on our aim for being successful in life.

Ans . Success is important because it gives us self-confidence and hopes to move to the next level in life.

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Success in life essay 15 models

Success in life essay contains many wonderful ideas on how to achieve success in all areas of life. Success is the ambition of every human being who always seeks to achieve it. All of this will be found here through Success in life essay in English.

Success in life essay

No one likes failure, but on the contrary everyone is always striving for excellence and success, but why can not we all achieve success ?! This is what we will learn here where success has several factors you will find here on Success in life essay.

Success, the dream of every person in this life, and a wish that everyone seeks to reach. Success is a major reason for sustaining life with great motivation.

To succeed in life must succeed in all areas, in study, work, social life, human relations, and in our relationship with the Creator; because all things of life depend on each other.

Reasons for Success in Life;

Belief in God: A man needs in his instinct to God, Without realizing this instinct, man remains confused. And belief in God earns man comfort and tranquility. 

Setting specific goals:  Successful man has specific goals to be achieved in the short and long term, and is required to achieve.

Short goals are usually mini-targets to reach the larger goal,  For example, obtaining a doctorate in English literature requires several goals, the least of which is to obtain a bachelor’s degree, and then master.

 These goals require a set of other objectives, such as passing exams, preparing reports, Thus, a person feels a goal in his life that seeks it, which gives him motivation for progress and achievement.

Continually developing skills:  Our world is witnessing many different aspects of development. The devices and inventions are renewed every day, Therefore, man must be aware of these inventions,  As well as skills development in various aspects, such as communication skills, language learning and others.

Optimism and self-confidence: One of the most important factors that help to succeed is the confidence of the person in himself, in addition to being optimistic about the positive outcome.  If he fails, he must try again, not surrender, and work hard to correct the mistakes he has made to avoid failure.

Being with the Successful:  The companion has the greatest impact on human ambition .  Escorting the losers increases human frustration and pessimism, while accompanying the successful increases hope, motivation, and self-confidence.

  Assistance other people: The help of others brings inner satisfaction and psychological comfort, which sharpens the spirit of man, and pays him to give more to himself and to others, And thus becomes more productive, as it receives the satisfaction of God and the love of people, which means success in social and religious life.

Avoid vanity:  Humans should enjoy humility no matter how high they are,  When a person is tempted by himself, and thinks that he has reached a great amount,he does not continue in the achievement and giving,  Thus others develop and perform ,and he will remain where he is, and gradually turn into a failed person.

How to be successful in life essay

There is no doubt that everyone aspires to succeed in life and achieve the goals that he wants to achieve. To succeed in life, steps are studied from the experiences of men who were able to overcome all obstacles and succeed in a remarkable and honorable manner.

It can be said that the most important factor a person needs to succeed is faith in his dream. Anyone can dream, plan, set goals, and work with great effort and sincerity in his work.

But the most thing that makes a lot of business or plans fail is to stop believing in a dream, to stop getting up every day in a lively, energetic and passionate way to achieve this dream. Once they go through some hardships, many give up on their dream.

Then comes the importance of good planning and thoughtful management of any goal. Planning in advance can save you a lot of time, so it is difficult to get distracted, as happens with many people.

How to achieve success in life essay

Undoubtedly, life does not give many golden opportunities. I’m absolutely sure of this, I can see a lot of people around me regret missing the golden opportunities that were offered once in their lives.

So I made two plans for myself, which I strive to achieve:

Diligence in studying, excelling, and working as a lawyer, I find that this specialization has a very brilliant future and achieves great financial benefits, in addition to the benefits of public relations and getting to know others.

Therefore, I set a plan to strive with all my energy to achieve this goal and work to increase my focus. In addition to participating in some quick wit classes to improve my intellectual level and increase awareness. Of course, I am still in an early stage of education, but it is good to have a goal to achieve.

second plan

I find that participating in sports is something that has a bright future. So learning it from now and improving and developing my skills and maintaining my physical fitness, will certainly guarantee me a good chance to achieve this goal. There are many people who have been able to succeed through one of the sports such as football or basketball.

My plan is to combine a popular sport and art, to ensure several plans that help me succeed. Therefore, I think that I am striving to achieve success and must continue on the path that I am following.

Topic About Success

Every success in life has good planning, fatigue, effort and sacrifice. Nothing comes easily in the world, there are many success stories in life, but they always have another side that no one knows about.

Like someone who succeeded in designing an invention at the age of 50, although he started with this idea 25 years ago, but he did not give up. So no one looks at how his life is and has he practiced the activities he loves enough or not, has he gone out and faced life like others or not, so I say that success is the price of sacrifice.

Many believe that success is the result of effort and adherence to a dream only, but this is not true. In order to succeed, you must harness everything in your life to achieve this success, from waking up early every day, working on improving and constantly planning for the dream you have in mind, expanding relationships and trying to involve people who support the idea, whether morally or financially and to sacrifice all distractions and live for your dream only until it comes true. This is what it takes to succeed from my point of view.

Essay on success in life

The real success in life is the possession of health along with good planning for how to live and maintain it, money comes and goes, Therefore, it is great for a person to work on maintaining his health first and providing as much good external relations as possible, such as making good alms and relationships.

After that comes the role of money, how to spend it, good planning and continuous search for unique opportunities to increase money and form successful projects.

Now it has become easy to climb the ladders of fame and success, due to the great thirst for what is new, whether in the world of art, sports, or technology.

Therefore, the many opportunities around us have become accessible to everyone, through which success can be achieved. All it takes is to maintain the goals and strive to achieve them.

Essay about success in life

Success in life requires achieving goals, striving, diligence, holding on to your dreams, and having complete faith in yourself and your dream.

And no matter how circumstances around you change, you must still stick to your dream and strive to achieve it. This is how he achieves success in life, when a person arranges his priorities and sets a clear plan for how to use the time, he can achieve many achievements and gain a lot of experience.

When you set short-term goals, medium-term goals, and long-term goals, and then seek to achieve them and stick to these goals without distraction, you will definitely get satisfactory results or very close to what you expected.

And if you do not reach your goal, you will be close to it and have experience and knowledge of its requirements, and then you can stick to and continue to try until success is achieved.

Short essay on success in life

Success in life is the fruit of fatigue and effort from long days of staying up late or waking up early for study or training.

Life is not always generous and gives opportunities on a plate of gold, you must have the required skills first so that life gives you a chance. Such as having high skills in a sport such as soccer, basketball, or any other game.

Or getting tired and diligent in studying to a great extent so that you can get the first positions that will help you get a prestigious job.

Any golden opportunity requires that you be talented or have the skills for this job. Then comes the big prize, success in life. When you achieve your goal and get what you want, you have already achieved success in life.

The wonderful thing about diligence, fatigue, and improving a person’s abilities, is that self-confidence becomes greater. And he is very willing to face anything without fear and hesitation because he can rely on his abilities and talents and submit them. This guarantees him many chances of success.

Importance of success in life essay

Success in life, especially at an early age, helps to greatly benefit from what you have achieved. Whenever your success is great and you are young and have the health to enjoy it, only then will success have meaning for you.

As for those who achieve success to be immortalized after them or to leave it to their children, the success will certainly be great and appreciated as well.

The importance of success in life

1- Self-realization by bringing out his full capabilities and striving to achieve his goals and succeed in them.

2- Self-satisfaction, the more a person can succeed in life, the more he has self-confidence and he is able to deal differently and more confidently.

3- Benefiting society from its success, many people seek to achieve remarkable change and leave an unforgettable imprint in their history, so when a person invents something that benefits humanity, he leaves an imprint behind him that immortalizes his name and helps society to progress and improve.

Therefore, whatever your goal of success or the concept of success for you, in the end the benefit will accrue to you, whether material or historical benefit. It is wonderful if it is materialistic to be at an early age so that you can live and enjoy it.

How to become successful in life essay

Success in life requires perseverance, effort, patience, strength, and most of all, thoughtful future plans, and good money management. This is how a person achieves great success in life.

When you make future plans from a young age and strive to achieve them and strive for yourself, in addition to clinging to what you have and not giving up easily and giving up what you have for something that is not guaranteed, this helps to get closer to what you plan.

Self-confidence is gained from the experiences  that you gain from falling and getting up, as you benefit from it how to deal with all things.

After confidence comes striving and perseverance to achieve the goal, the more you stick to your dream and strive to achieve it, the closer you get to it.

Then comes the lessons learned from others, and you must take them into account, and do not ignore them, as often misplaced trust drops its owner.

My idea of success in life essay

My idea of ​​true success in life is to have health, good companionship, and true love from family and friends. All material things and others can be achieved, but if health is lost, it is difficult to obtain it again and replace it.

Therefore, success requires effort and continuous work to maintain health, follow a good healthy diet, a lot of exercise, and make sure to eat healthy foods free of any harmful substances.

Besides dealing well with others, and being the best person in all situations, no matter how much sacrifice or concession you require.

Nothing is permanent and friends and family may lose them at any time, so it is good to hold on to them and pay attention to what makes them happy, and avoid what grieves them.

So, from my point of view, this is how you  achieve success in life.

Essay on how to achieve success in life

Undoubtedly, there are many success stories surrounding us that have inspired many people to become like their starting point in their attempt to achieve success in their own lives as well.

But I see that real success in life does not need to follow the stories of others or try to imitate the steps, because I see that the real success in life is that you have your own inspiration, and your own life, and not look at the lives of others.

It does not matter how much money or friends you have, or acquaintances in prestigious places, it is enough to be happy and live in your way, and have health, and no matter what your food or what you have, a lot or a little, it does not matter, it is enough to be thankful and grateful for it.

This is the perspective of success in life from my point of view, it may change in the future, it may remain the same, I do not know what I will learn from life tomorrow. But I hope that my convictions will remain, in a sense of contentment with what I have.

Paragraph on success in life

Success in life requires a lot of fatigue and diligence, a lot of patience and planning, a careful study of goals and ambitions, a vision for the future, and an organized schedule with specific goals according to priority with close goals, medium-term goals, long-term goals,

Walking in this footsteps, not rushing, and trying to succeed quickly without building firm rules that maintain success, from my point of view, these are the basics that help in achieving success in life, and I follow them mainly in many important matters in my life.

Being successful in life essay

In order to become successful in life, I must set my goals and make plans for how to manage my life, and choose the appropriate ways and means for my personality, which make me progress in my life happily, and not waste my life without enjoying my life and having a good life and future.

Therefore, it is great to choose things that you love, whether in the academic aspect, hobby, or work. Forming advance plans for the implementation of these plans and setting up a model that defines the type of goal and the time required for its achievement .

Putting finished goals in a list and unfinished business in a list, allocating time for them and managing enough hours for rest, allocating time for study and development in any of the matters of life, until you reach a good result in all the things you do, and the formation of a strong personality and self-confidence that you can rely on in your next life.

Why you can succeed in life essay

It is wonderful that there are many successful experiences that surround us in life. You can see the success achieved by many people around the world, how to achieve this, and what ideas they took to achieve this success.

All of these things can be studied and benefited from their experience. In addition to reading and attending some lectures on human development and self-development, and reading about such matters.

Once you collect such things and information, you will find that you have a great opportunity to start preparing a plan for your future and your life.

And you can rely on many of the means and methods used by those before you and develop them by integrating them in several different experiences, and benefiting from them.

This is how I can succeed in life and make use of the time and spend all the time in carrying out good tasks and works that benefit me without wasting time.

How to become successful in life paragraph

Undoubtedly, there are many successful experiences that many people have presented before. We can see a lot of successful people around us.

If we look into everyone’s lives, we will find that everyone has a dream, and these people stuck to their dream, and tried to achieve it to benefit from it and benefit humanity.

And the greatest people who worked for the benefit of humanity, and we find in their stories a lot of fatigue and effort, and that they sacrificed pleasure and enjoyment all the time in their lives in exchange for presenting their dream to humanity.

Where they worked for hours and long years, trying to solve all the obstacles, and find appropriate solutions that could benefit humanity.

And use everything that is available to them, and strive to achieve more things that help them develop these dreams and bring them to light.

In the end, after studying and designing, holding on to the dream, a lot of patience, and a lot of completed tasks that they worked on, we find them to be a world famous in front of us today.

We are proud of them and we see the amount of success they achieved in their short life, but it lives for many years that cannot be counted.

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More From Forbes

5 strategies to unlock your winning college essay.

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CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 29: People walk through the gate on Harvard Yard at the Harvard ... [+] University campus on June 29, 2023 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that race-conscious admission policies used by Harvard and the University of North Carolina violate the Constitution, bringing an end to affirmative action in higher education. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

The college application season is upon us, and high school students everywhere are staring down at one of the most daunting tasks: the college essay. As someone who has guided countless applicants through the admissions process and reviewed admissions essays on an undergraduate admissions committee, I've pinpointed the essential ingredient to a differentiated candidacy—the core of your college admissions X-factor .

The essential ingredient to your college admissions X-factor is your intellectual vitality. Intellectual vitality is your passion for learning and curiosity. By demonstrating and conveying this passion, you can transform an average essay into a compelling narrative that boosts your chances of getting accepted to your top schools. Here are five dynamic strategies to achieve that goal.

Unleash Your Authentic Voice

Admissions officers sift through thousands of essays every year. What stops them in their tracks? An authentic voice that leaps off the page. Forget trying to guess what the admissions committee wants to hear. Focus on being true to yourself. Share your unique perspective, your passions, and your values. Authenticity resonates deeply with application reviewers, making your essay memorable and impactful. You need not have experienced trauma or tragedy to create a strong narrative. You can write about what you know—intellectually or personally—to convey your enthusiasm, creativity, and leadership. Intellectual vitality shines through when you write with personalized reflection about what lights you up.

Weave A Captivating Story

Everyone loves a good story, and your essay is the perfect place to tell yours. The Common Application personal statement has seven choices of prompts to ground the structure for your narrative. The most compelling stories are often about the smallest moments in life, whether it’s shopping at Costco or about why you wear socks that have holes. Think of the Common Application personal statement as a window into your soul rather than a dry list of your achievements or your overly broad event-based life story. Use vivid anecdotes to bring your experiences to life. A well-told story can showcase your growth, highlight your character, and illustrate how you've overcome challenges. Intellectual vitality often emerges in these narratives, revealing how your curiosity and proactive approach to learning have driven you to explore and innovate.

Reflect And Reveal Insights

It's not just about what you've done—it's about what you've learned along the way. When you are writing about a specific event, you can use the STAR framework—situation, task, action, and result (your learning). Focus most of your writing space on the “R” part of this framework to dive deeply into your experiences and reflect on how they've shaped your aspirations and identity.

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The most insightful college-specific supplement essays demonstrate depth of thought, and the ability to connect past experiences with your future life in college and beyond. Reflecting on your intellectual journey signals maturity and a readiness to embrace the college experience. It shows admissions officers that you engage deeply with your studies and are eager to contribute to the academic community.

Highlight Your Contributions—But Don’t Brag

Whether it's a special talent, an unusual hobby, or a unique perspective, showcasing what you can bring to the college environment can make a significant impact. Recognize that the hard work behind the accomplishment is what colleges are interested in learning more about—not retelling about the accomplishment itself. (Honors and activities can be conveyed in another section of the application.) Walk us through the journey to your summit; don’t just take us to the peak and expect us know how you earned it.

Intellectual vitality can be demonstrated through your proactive approach to solving problems, starting new projects, or leading initiatives that reflect your passion for learning and growth. These experiences often have a place in the college-specific supplement essays. They ground the reasons why you want to study in your major and at the particular college.

Perfect Your Prose

Great writing is essential. Anyone can use AI or a thesaurus to assist with an essay, but AI cannot write your story in the way that you tell it. Admissions officers don’t give out extra credit for choosing the longest words with the most amount of syllables.

The best essays have clear, coherent language and are free of errors. The story is clearly and specifically told. After drafting, take the time to revise and polish your writing. Seek feedback from teachers, mentors, or trusted friends, but ensure the final piece is unmistakably yours. A well-crafted essay showcases your diligence and attention to detail—qualities that admissions officers highly value. Intellectual vitality is also reflected in your writing process, showing your commitment to excellence and your enthusiasm for presenting your best self.

Crafting a standout college essay is about presenting your true self in an engaging, reflective, and polished manner while showcasing your intellectual vitality. Happy writing.

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China will take the mantle of world superpower from the United States – if Russia wins in Ukraine

For seven days The Telegraph is running a series of exclusive essays from international commentators imagining the consequences if Russia were successful in its war. The full list of essays so far can be found below.

China and its alliance with other opponents of the West is the most serious challenge to world peace and prosperity since the Second World War.

If Putin achieved his objective of annexing Ukraine – subjugating its people to ruthless tyranny – the responsibility for this would substantially rest with the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) support . And it would benefit President Xi most of all.

It is hard to predict how global conflict between the current liberal and authoritarian orders would develop following a triumph for the latter in Ukraine. This stems in part from the normative roles played by Xi, Putin, and the leaders of North Korea and Iran, whose sense of risk and benefit is unknowable.

Nevertheless, some aspects of China under Xi’s autocracy, both internally and in its foreign relations, are well-established and likely to persist. For one, China would likely see victory for Putin as a major leap towards its desired revision of the world order. But not necessarily in the way one might think.

Hitherto, many Western commentators have clung to the notion that China seeks to reform rather than overthrow the international rules-based order established post-1945 represented by institutions like the UN. They are wrong: The revisionist nature of Xi’s vision of a China-led “new era” would move to the fore if Ukraine fell, and profoundly.

This was the clear message of Xi’s farewell words to Putin in Moscow in March 2023: “changes are happening that have not been seen for 100 years; we are driving these together”. Putin agreed. Xi was signalling a joint assault on liberal norms; indeed, one of the most obvious impacts of the war has been to show the fragility of bodies like the UN, with Russia and China’s veto effectively giving Moscow a blank cheque to get away, quite literally, with murder.

This said, the background to their expedient sharing of revisionist goals is not straightforward. The CCP are neuralgic about losing autonomy through association with any external forces. Forced by realpolitik necessity to align with Putin just before the invasion, CCP pragmatism has turned his error to China’s advantage, driving hard bargains for importing game-changing amounts of Russian energy while watching the West and Russia exhaust each other. Prolonged frozen conflict remains Beijing’s favoured outcome.

But even if Putin wins outright, crucially Xi’s plans for China as leader of a new world order include no place at the high table for Putin emboldened by victory in Ukraine, let alone turning belligerent eyes on the Baltics, Poland and Central Europe. The CCP hopes for revived growth as Russia’s main energy market, but is committed to remaining clear of reciprocal dependency.

Putin, for his part, is already visibly needy for Xi’s long-delayed agreement on “ Power of Siberia 2” , a gas pipeline to China via Mongolia. He reportedly intends to pitch Beijing shortly for another via Kazakhstan.

This urgency from Moscow suits Xi’s book. He is unlikely to throw Putin more such strategic lifelines, “victory” in Ukraine notwithstanding. Ultimately, Beijing seeks direct strategic control of the Manchu Empire’s former territory in Eastern Siberia, potentially capable of meeting China’s entire energy needs for several decades and shifting the balance of power on the Western Pacific rim dramatically in China’s favour. Paying whatever he asks to prop up Putin’s declining empire does not serve Xi’s strategic turn.

Internally, the CCP regards economic advantage as subordinate to Party interests, which are currently focused on military and political rivalry with the West. China’s current surge in nuclear weapons production is a key part of Xi’s “new era” agenda, intended to challenge Western nuclear supremacy, but also to neutralise threats from India and Russia. In the heightened international tensions that would inevitably follow Russian victory in Ukraine, China’s wider efforts to strengthen its military capabilities and influence world-wide are likely to increase.

Beijing would further exploit policy disarray and divisions that contributed to Western failure to defend Ukraine effectively. In such a context, it is hard to predict whether China’s deliberate role in the debacle would renew Western resolve to impose harsher sanctions against China as well as Russia.

China is currently building up resilience against such an eventuality. Sanctions de-risking, gold-hoarding and other moves to decouple from Western dependencies (including the US dollar) should not be read as simply filling a war-chest to support the invasion of Taiwan – these policies are also strategic foundations for revisionist Chinese imperium over a new world order centred on Asia, BRICs and the Global South.

All this said, in considering how China would act and fare if Putin wins, we should not underestimate the challenges Xi’s ambitions would encounter. The Chinese economy is increasingly weak, with Xi’s policy response to date markedly ineffectual. Stagnant growth and the risk of deflation ought to deter Xi from his current spending spree on arming and organising for potential hostilities in the Taiwan Straits.

So far, no moderation in rhetoric or substance is apparent. But with or without enhanced sanctions pressures, the collapse of free Ukraine would likely have a widespread negative impact on global trade, including China’s links to important Western markets. Reduced profits from dealing with the West cannot readily be made up by China changing horses in favour of the developing world. In particular, Xi would continue to court support wherever in Europe he could generate it.

Current headwinds, in short, would not abate. Xi’s efforts to grip the domestic economy over the last decade are unlikely to fare any better in the short to medium term, particularly if Ukraine comes back under Russian control. Facing external opprobrium and regime-threatening economic instability at home, ruthless authoritarians can be tempted to rally nationalist sentiment behind a military adventure.

If his unknown personal risk assessment still compels caution, Xi might hold back from a diversionary assault on Taiwan. But with one free state newly sacrificed to tyranny, there will also be drivers in favour of calling the West’s bluff.

At the very least we may expect increased coercive pressure, military posturing and nationalist rhetoric, not only over Taiwan – with its growing danger of lethal miscalculation in the Pacific – but across other increasingly contested global space. Behind the immediate tragedy of Putin’s bloody adventure, Xi’s China will remain the chief agent of global insecurity. The UK, its allies and partners must give this reality the attention it demands.

Other essays in the ‘What If Putin Wins?’ series:

‘Putin’s plot to destroy Nato is reaching its devastating climax’ by Aliona Hlivco

‘Europe’s fascist future awaits’ by Dr Thomas Clausen

‘If Russia wins, expect the worst genocide since the Holocaust’ by Karolina Hird

‘Putin’s next conquests are already in his sights’ by Ivana Stradner

With Ukraine’s resources, Putin would be unstoppable by Liliane Bivings

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.

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• Published: 17 October 2023

The impact of founder personalities on startup success

• Paul X. McCarthy 1 , 2 ,
• Xian Gong 3 ,
• Fabian Braesemann 4 , 5 ,
• Fabian Stephany 4 , 5 ,
• Marian-Andrei Rizoiu 3 &
• Margaret L. Kern 6  

Scientific Reports volume  13 , Article number:  17200 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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• Human behaviour
• Information technology

An Author Correction to this article was published on 07 May 2024

This article has been updated

Startup companies solve many of today’s most challenging problems, such as the decarbonisation of the economy or the development of novel life-saving vaccines. Startups are a vital source of innovation, yet the most innovative are also the least likely to survive. The probability of success of startups has been shown to relate to several firm-level factors such as industry, location and the economy of the day. Still, attention has increasingly considered internal factors relating to the firm’s founding team, including their previous experiences and failures, their centrality in a global network of other founders and investors, as well as the team’s size. The effects of founders’ personalities on the success of new ventures are, however, mainly unknown. Here, we show that founder personality traits are a significant feature of a firm’s ultimate success. We draw upon detailed data about the success of a large-scale global sample of startups (n = 21,187). We find that the Big Five personality traits of startup founders across 30 dimensions significantly differ from that of the population at large. Key personality facets that distinguish successful entrepreneurs include a preference for variety, novelty and starting new things (openness to adventure), like being the centre of attention (lower levels of modesty) and being exuberant (higher activity levels). We do not find one ’Founder-type’ personality; instead, six different personality types appear. Our results also demonstrate the benefits of larger, personality-diverse teams in startups, which show an increased likelihood of success. The findings emphasise the role of the diversity of personality types as a novel dimension of team diversity that influences performance and success.

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Introduction.

The success of startups is vital to economic growth and renewal, with a small number of young, high-growth firms creating a disproportionately large share of all new jobs 1 , 2 . Startups create jobs and drive economic growth, and they are also an essential vehicle for solving some of society’s most pressing challenges.

As a poignant example, six centuries ago, the German city of Mainz was abuzz as the birthplace of the world’s first moveable-type press created by Johannes Gutenberg. However, in the early part of this century, it faced several economic challenges, including rising unemployment and a significant and growing municipal debt. Then in 2008, two Turkish immigrants formed the company BioNTech in Mainz with another university research colleague. Together they pioneered new mRNA-based technologies. In 2020, BioNTech partnered with US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to create one of only a handful of vaccines worldwide for Covid-19, saving an estimated six million lives 3 . The economic benefit to Europe and, in particular, the German city where the vaccine was developed has been significant, with windfall tax receipts to the government clearing Mainz’s €1.3bn debt and enabling tax rates to be reduced, attracting other businesses to the region as well as inspiring a whole new generation of startups 4 .

While stories such as the success of BioNTech are often retold and remembered, their success is the exception rather than the rule. The overwhelming majority of startups ultimately fail. One study of 775 startups in Canada that successfully attracted external investment found only 35% were still operating seven years later 5 .

But what determines the success of these ‘lucky few’? When assessing the success factors of startups, especially in the early-stage unproven phase, venture capitalists and other investors offer valuable insights. Three different schools of thought characterise their perspectives: first, supply-side or product investors : those who prioritise investing in firms they consider to have novel and superior products and services, investing in companies with intellectual property such as patents and trademarks. Secondly, demand-side or market-based investors : those who prioritise investing in areas of highest market interest, such as in hot areas of technology like quantum computing or recurrent or emerging large-scale social and economic challenges such as the decarbonisation of the economy. Thirdly, talent investors : those who prioritise the foundation team above the startup’s initial products or what industry or problem it is looking to address.

Investors who adopt the third perspective and prioritise talent often recognise that a good team can overcome many challenges in the lead-up to product-market fit. And while the initial products of a startup may or may not work a successful and well-functioning team has the potential to pivot to new markets and new products, even if the initial ones prove untenable. Not surprisingly, an industry ‘autopsy’ into 101 tech startup failures found 23% were due to not having the right team—the number three cause of failure ahead of running out of cash or not having a product that meets the market need 6 .

Accordingly, early entrepreneurship research was focused on the personality of founders, but the focus shifted away in the mid-1980s onwards towards more environmental factors such as venture capital financing 7 , 8 , 9 , networks 10 , location 11 and due to a range of issues and challenges identified with the early entrepreneurship personality research 12 , 13 . At the turn of the 21st century, some scholars began exploring ways to combine context and personality and reconcile entrepreneurs’ individual traits with features of their environment. In her influential work ’The Sociology of Entrepreneurship’, Patricia H. Thornton 14 discusses two perspectives on entrepreneurship: the supply-side perspective (personality theory) and the demand-side perspective (environmental approach). The supply-side perspective focuses on the individual traits of entrepreneurs. In contrast, the demand-side perspective focuses on the context in which entrepreneurship occurs, with factors such as finance, industry and geography each playing their part. In the past two decades, there has been a revival of interest and research that explores how entrepreneurs’ personality relates to the success of their ventures. This new and growing body of research includes several reviews and meta-studies, which show that personality traits play an important role in both career success and entrepreneurship 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , that there is heterogeneity in definitions and samples used in research on entrepreneurship 16 , 18 , and that founder personality plays an important role in overall startup outcomes 17 , 19 .

Motivated by the pivotal role of the personality of founders on startup success outlined in these recent contributions, we investigate two main research questions:

Which personality features characterise founders?

Do their personalities, particularly the diversity of personality types in founder teams, play a role in startup success?

We aim to understand whether certain founder personalities and their combinations relate to startup success, defined as whether their company has been acquired, acquired another company or listed on a public stock exchange. For the quantitative analysis, we draw on a previously published methodology 20 , which matches people to their ‘ideal’ jobs based on social media-inferred personality traits.

We find that personality traits matter for startup success. In addition to firm-level factors of location, industry and company age, we show that founders’ specific Big Five personality traits, such as adventurousness and openness, are significantly more widespread among successful startups. As we find that companies with multi-founder teams are more likely to succeed, we cluster founders in six different and distinct personality groups to underline the relevance of the complementarity in personality traits among founder teams. Startups with diverse and specific combinations of founder types (e. g., an adventurous ‘Leader’, a conscientious ‘Accomplisher’, and an extroverted ‘Developer’) have significantly higher odds of success.

We organise the rest of this paper as follows. In the Section " Results ", we introduce the data used and the methods applied to relate founders’ psychological traits with their startups’ success. We introduce the natural language processing method to derive individual and team personality characteristics and the clustering technique to identify personality groups. Then, we present the result for multi-variate regression analysis that allows us to relate firm success with external and personality features. Subsequently, the Section " Discussion " mentions limitations and opportunities for future research in this domain. In the Section " Methods ", we describe the data, the variables in use, and the clustering in greater detail. Robustness checks and additional analyses can be found in the Supplementary Information.

Our analysis relies on two datasets. We infer individual personality facets via a previously published methodology 20 from Twitter user profiles. Here, we restrict our analysis to founders with a Crunchbase profile. Crunchbase is the world’s largest directory on startups. It provides information about more than one million companies, primarily focused on funding and investors. A company’s public Crunchbase profile can be considered a digital business card of an early-stage venture. As such, the founding teams tend to provide information about themselves, including their educational background or a link to their Twitter account.

We infer the personality profiles of the founding teams of early-stage ventures from their publicly available Twitter profiles, using the methodology described by Kern et al. 20 . Then, we correlate this information to data from Crunchbase to determine whether particular combinations of personality traits correspond to the success of early-stage ventures. The final dataset used in the success prediction model contains n = 21,187 startup companies (for more details on the data see the Methods section and SI section  A.5 ).

Revisions of Crunchbase as a data source for investigations on a firm and industry level confirm the platform to be a useful and valuable source of data for startups research, as comparisons with other sources at micro-level, e.g., VentureXpert or PwC, also suggest that the platform’s coverage is very comprehensive, especially for start-ups located in the United States 21 . Moreover, aggregate statistics on funding rounds by country and year are quite similar to those produced with other established sources, going to validate the use of Crunchbase as a reliable source in terms of coverage of funded ventures. For instance, Crunchbase covers about the same number of investment rounds in the analogous sectors as collected by the National Venture Capital Association 22 . However, we acknowledge that the data source might suffer from registration latency (a certain delay between the foundation of the company and its actual registration on Crunchbase) and success bias in company status (the likeliness that failed companies decide to delete their profile from the database).

The definition of startup success

The success of startups is uncertain, dependent on many factors and can be measured in various ways. Due to the likelihood of failure in startups, some large-scale studies have looked at which features predict startup survival rates 23 , and others focus on fundraising from external investors at various stages 24 . Success for startups can be measured in multiple ways, such as the amount of external investment attracted, the number of new products shipped or the annual growth in revenue. But sometimes external investments are misguided, revenue growth can be short-lived, and new products may fail to find traction.

Success in a startup is typically staged and can appear in different forms and times. For example, a startup may be seen to be successful when it finds a clear solution to a widely recognised problem, such as developing a successful vaccine. On the other hand, it could be achieving some measure of commercial success, such as rapidly accelerating sales or becoming profitable or at least cash positive. Or it could be reaching an exit for foundation investors via a trade sale, acquisition or listing of its shares for sale on a public stock exchange via an Initial Public Offering (IPO).

For our study, we focused on the startup’s extrinsic success rather than the founders’ intrinsic success per se, as its more visible, objective and measurable. A frequently considered measure of success is the attraction of external investment by venture capitalists 25 . However, this is not in and of itself a good measure of clear, incontrovertible success, particularly for early-stage ventures. This is because it reflects investors’ expectations of a startup’s success potential rather than actual business success. Similarly, we considered other measures like revenue growth 26 , liquidity events 27 , 28 , 29 , profitability 30 and social impact 31 , all of which have benefits as they capture incremental success, but each also comes with operational measurement challenges.

Therefore, we apply the success definition initially introduced by Bonaventura et al. 32 , namely that a startup is acquired, acquires another company or has an initial public offering (IPO). We consider any of these major capital liquidation events as a clear threshold signal that the company has matured from an early-stage venture to becoming or is on its way to becoming a mature company with clear and often significant business growth prospects. Together these three major liquidity events capture the primary forms of exit for external investors (an acquisition or trade sale and an IPO). For companies with a longer autonomous growth runway, acquiring another company marks a similar milestone of scale, maturity and capability.

Using multifactor analysis and a binary classification prediction model of startup success, we looked at many variables together and their relative influence on the probability of the success of startups. We looked at seven categories of factors through three lenses of firm-level factors: (1) location, (2) industry, (3) age of the startup; founder-level factors: (4) number of founders, (5) gender of founders, (6) personality characteristics of founders and; lastly team-level factors: (7) founder-team personality combinations. The model performance and relative impacts on the probability of startup success of each of these categories of founders are illustrated in more detail in section  A.6 of the Supplementary Information (in particular Extended Data Fig.  19 and Extended Data Fig.  20 ). In total, we considered over three hundred variables (n = 323) and their relative significant associations with success.

The personality of founders

Besides product-market, industry, and firm-level factors (see SI section  A.1 ), research suggests that the personalities of founders play a crucial role in startup success 19 . Therefore, we examine the personality characteristics of individual startup founders and teams of founders in relationship to their firm’s success by applying the success definition used by Bonaventura et al. 32 .

Employing established methods 33 , 34 , 35 , we inferred the personality traits across 30 dimensions (Big Five facets) of a large global sample of startup founders. The startup founders cohort was created from a subset of founders from the global startup industry directory Crunchbase, who are also active on the social media platform Twitter.

To measure the personality of the founders, we used the Big Five, a popular model of personality which includes five core traits: Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Emotional stability. Each of these traits can be further broken down into thirty distinct facets. Studies have found that the Big Five predict meaningful life outcomes, such as physical and mental health, longevity, social relationships, health-related behaviours, antisocial behaviour, and social contribution, at levels on par with intelligence and socioeconomic status 36 Using machine learning to infer personality traits by analysing the use of language and activity on social media has been shown to be more accurate than predictions of coworkers, friends and family and similar in accuracy to the judgement of spouses 37 . Further, as other research has shown, we assume that personality traits remain stable in adulthood even through significant life events 38 , 39 , 40 . Personality traits have been shown to emerge continuously from those already evident in adolescence 41 and are not significantly influenced by external life events such as becoming divorced or unemployed 42 . This suggests that the direction of any measurable effect goes from founder personalities to startup success and not vice versa.

As a first investigation to what extent personality traits might relate to entrepreneurship, we use the personality characteristics of individuals to predict whether they were an entrepreneur or an employee. We trained and tested a machine-learning random forest classifier to distinguish and classify entrepreneurs from employees and vice-versa using inferred personality vectors alone. As a result, we found we could correctly predict entrepreneurs with 77% accuracy and employees with 88% accuracy (Fig.  1 A). Thus, based on personality information alone, we correctly predict all unseen new samples with 82.5% accuracy (See SI section  A.2 for more details on this analysis, the classification modelling and prediction accuracy).

We explored in greater detail which personality features are most prominent among entrepreneurs. We found that the subdomain or facet of Adventurousness within the Big Five Domain of Openness was significant and had the largest effect size. The facet of Modesty within the Big Five Domain of Agreeableness and Activity Level within the Big Five Domain of Extraversion was the subsequent most considerable effect (Fig.  1 B). Adventurousness in the Big Five framework is defined as the preference for variety, novelty and starting new things—which are consistent with the role of a startup founder whose role, especially in the early life of the company, is to explore things that do not scale easily 43 and is about developing and testing new products, services and business models with the market.

Once we derived and tested the Big Five personality features for each entrepreneur in our data set, we examined whether there is evidence indicating that startup founders naturally cluster according to their personality features using a Hopkins test (see Extended Data Figure  6 ). We discovered clear clustering tendencies in the data compared with other renowned reference data sets known to have clusters. Then, once we established the founder data clusters, we used agglomerative hierarchical clustering. This ‘bottom-up’ clustering technique initially treats each observation as an individual cluster. Then it merges them to create a hierarchy of possible cluster schemes with differing numbers of groups (See Extended Data Fig.  7 ). And lastly, we identified the optimum number of clusters based on the outcome of four different clustering performance measurements: Davies-Bouldin Index, Silhouette coefficients, Calinski-Harabas Index and Dunn Index (see Extended Data Figure  8 ). We find that the optimum number of clusters of startup founders based on their personality features is six (labelled #0 through to #5), as shown in Fig.  1 C.

To better understand the context of different founder types, we positioned each of the six types of founders within an occupation-personality matrix established from previous research 44 . This research showed that ‘each job has its own personality’ using a substantial sample of employees across various jobs. Utilising the methodology employed in this study, we assigned labels to the cluster names #0 to #5, which correspond to the identified occupation tribes that best describe the personality facets represented by the clusters (see Extended Data Fig.  9 for an overview of these tribes, as identified by McCarthy et al. 44 ).

Utilising this approach, we identify three ’purebred’ clusters: #0, #2 and #5, whose members are dominated by a single tribe (larger than 60% of all individuals in each cluster are characterised by one tribe). Thus, these clusters represent and share personality attributes of these previously identified occupation-personality tribes 44 , which have the following known distinctive personality attributes (see also Table  1 ):

Accomplishers (#0) —Organised & outgoing. confident, down-to-earth, content, accommodating, mild-tempered & self-assured.

Leaders (#2) —Adventurous, persistent, dispassionate, assertive, self-controlled, calm under pressure, philosophical, excitement-seeking & confident.

Fighters (#5) —Spontaneous and impulsive, tough, sceptical, and uncompromising.

We labelled these clusters with the tribe names, acknowledging that labels are somewhat arbitrary, based on our best interpretation of the data (See SI section  A.3 for more details).

For the remaining three clusters #1, #3 and #4, we can see they are ‘hybrids’, meaning that the founders within them come from a mix of different tribes, with no one tribe representing more than 50% of the members of that cluster. However, the tribes with the largest share were noted as #1 Experts/Engineers, #3 Fighters, and #4 Operators.

To label these three hybrid clusters, we examined the closest occupations to the median personality features of each cluster. We selected a name that reflected the common themes of these occupations, namely:

Experts/Engineers (#1) as the closest roles included Materials Engineers and Chemical Engineers. This is consistent with this cluster’s personality footprint, which is highest in openness in the facets of imagination and intellect.

Developers (#3) as the closest roles include Application Developers and related technology roles such as Business Systems Analysts and Product Managers.

Operators (#4) as the closest roles include service, maintenance and operations functions, including Bicycle Mechanic, Mechanic and Service Manager. This is also consistent with one of the key personality traits of high conscientiousness in the facet of orderliness and high agreeableness in the facet of humility for founders in this cluster.

Founder-Level Factors of Startup Success. ( A ), Successful entrepreneurs differ from successful employees. They can be accurately distinguished using a classifier with personality information alone. ( B ), Successful entrepreneurs have different Big Five facet distributions, especially on adventurousness, modesty and activity level. ( C ), Founders come in six different types: Fighters, Operators, Accomplishers, Leaders, Engineers and Developers (FOALED) ( D ), Each founder Personality-Type has its distinct facet.

Together, these six different types of startup founders (Fig.  1 C) represent a framework we call the FOALED model of founder types—an acronym of Fighters, Operators, Accomplishers, Leaders, Engineers and D evelopers.

Each founder’s personality type has its distinct facet footprint (for more details, see Extended Data Figure  10 in SI section  A.3 ). Also, we observe a central core of correlated features that are high for all types of entrepreneurs, including intellect, adventurousness and activity level (Fig.  1 D).To test the robustness of the clustering of the personality facets, we compare the mean scores of the individual facets per cluster with a 20-fold resampling of the data and find that the clusters are, overall, largely robust against resampling (see Extended Data Figure  11 in SI section  A.3 for more details).

We also find that the clusters accord with the distribution of founders’ roles in their startups. For example, Accomplishers are often Chief Executive Officers, Chief Financial Officers, or Chief Operating Officers, while Fighters tend to be Chief Technical Officers, Chief Product Officers, or Chief Commercial Officers (see Extended Data Fig.  12 in SI section  A.4 for more details).

The ensemble theory of success

While founders’ individual personality traits, such as Adventurousness or Openness, show to be related to their firms’ success, we also hypothesise that the combination, or ensemble, of personality characteristics of a founding team impacts the chances of success. The logic behind this reasoning is complementarity, which is proposed by contemporary research on the functional roles of founder teams. Examples of these clear functional roles have evolved in established industries such as film and television, construction, and advertising 45 . When we subsequently explored the combinations of personality types among founders and their relationship to the probability of startup success, adjusted for a range of other factors in a multi-factorial analysis, we found significantly increased chances of success for mixed foundation teams:

Initially, we find that firms with multiple founders are more likely to succeed, as illustrated in Fig.  2 A, which shows firms with three or more founders are more than twice as likely to succeed than solo-founded startups. This finding is consistent with investors’ advice to founders and previous studies 46 . We also noted that some personality types of founders increase the probability of success more than others, as shown in SI section  A.6 (Extended Data Figures  16 and 17 ). Also, we note that gender differences play out in the distribution of personality facets: successful female founders and successful male founders show facet scores that are more similar to each other than are non-successful female founders to non-successful male founders (see Extended Data Figure  18 ).

The Ensemble Theory of Team-Level Factors of Startup Success. ( A ) Having a larger founder team elevates the chances of success. This can be due to multiple reasons, e.g., a more extensive network or knowledge base but also personality diversity. ( B ) We show that joint personality combinations of founders are significantly related to higher chances of success. This is because it takes more than one founder to cover all beneficial personality traits that ‘breed’ success. ( C ) In our multifactor model, we show that firms with diverse and specific combinations of types of founders have significantly higher odds of success.

Access to more extensive networks and capital could explain the benefits of having more founders. Still, as we find here, it also offers a greater diversity of combined personalities, naturally providing a broader range of maximum traits. So, for example, one founder may be more open and adventurous, and another could be highly agreeable and trustworthy, thus, potentially complementing each other’s particular strengths associated with startup success.

The benefits of larger and more personality-diverse foundation teams can be seen in the apparent differences between successful and unsuccessful firms based on their combined Big Five personality team footprints, as illustrated in Fig.  2 B. Here, maximum values for each Big Five trait of a startup’s co-founders are mapped; stratified by successful and non-successful companies. Founder teams of successful startups tend to score higher on Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Agreeableness.

When examining the combinations of founders with different personality types, we find that some ensembles of personalities were significantly correlated with greater chances of startup success—while controlling for other variables in the model—as shown in Fig.  2 C (for more details on the modelling, the predictive performance and the coefficient estimates of the final model, see Extended Data Figures  19 , 20 , and 21 in SI section  A.6 ).

Three combinations of trio-founder companies were more than twice as likely to succeed than other combinations, namely teams with (1) a Leader and two Developers , (2) an Operator and two Developers , and (3) an Expert/Engineer , Leader and Developer . To illustrate the potential mechanisms on how personality traits might influence the success of startups, we provide some examples of well-known, successful startup founders and their characteristic personality traits in Extended Data Figure  22 .

Startups are one of the key mechanisms for brilliant ideas to become solutions to some of the world’s most challenging economic and social problems. Examples include the Google search algorithm, disability technology startup Fingerwork’s touchscreen technology that became the basis of the Apple iPhone, or the Biontech mRNA technology that powered Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.

We have shown that founders’ personalities and the combination of personalities in the founding team of a startup have a material and significant impact on its likelihood of success. We have also shown that successful startup founders’ personality traits are significantly different from those of successful employees—so much so that a simple predictor can be trained to distinguish between employees and entrepreneurs with more than 80% accuracy using personality trait data alone.

Just as occupation-personality maps derived from data can provide career guidance tools, so too can data on successful entrepreneurs’ personality traits help people decide whether becoming a founder may be a good choice for them.

We have learnt through this research that there is not one type of ideal ’entrepreneurial’ personality but six different types. Many successful startups have multiple co-founders with a combination of these different personality types.

To a large extent, founding a startup is a team sport; therefore, diversity and complementarity of personalities matter in the foundation team. It has an outsized impact on the company’s likelihood of success. While all startups are high risk, the risk becomes lower with more founders, particularly if they have distinct personality traits.

Our work demonstrates the benefits of personality diversity among the founding team of startups. Greater awareness of this novel form of diversity may help create more resilient startups capable of more significant innovation and impact.

The data-driven research approach presented here comes with certain methodological limitations. The principal data sources of this study—Crunchbase and Twitter—are extensive and comprehensive, but there are characterised by some known and likely sample biases.

Crunchbase is the principal public chronicle of venture capital funding. So, there is some likely sample bias toward: (1) Startup companies that are funded externally: self-funded or bootstrapped companies are less likely to be represented in Crunchbase; (2) technology companies, as that is Crunchbase’s roots; (3) multi-founder companies; (4) male founders: while the representation of female founders is now double that of the mid-2000s, women still represent less than 25% of the sample; (5) companies that succeed: companies that fail, especially those that fail early, are likely to be less represented in the data.

Samples were also limited to those founders who are active on Twitter, which adds additional selection biases. For example, Twitter users typically are younger, more educated and have a higher median income 47 . Another limitation of our approach is the potentially biased presentation of a person’s digital identity on social media, which is the basis for identifying personality traits. For example, recent research suggests that the language and emotional tone used by entrepreneurs in social media can be affected by events such as business failure 48 , which might complicate the personality trait inference.

In addition to sampling biases within the data, there are also significant historical biases in startup culture. For many aspects of the entrepreneurship ecosystem, women, for example, are at a disadvantage 49 . Male-founded companies have historically dominated most startup ecosystems worldwide, representing the majority of founders and the overwhelming majority of venture capital investors. As a result, startups with women have historically attracted significantly fewer funds 50 , in part due to the male bias among venture investors, although this is now changing, albeit slowly 51 .

The research presented here provides quantitative evidence for the relevance of personality types and the diversity of personalities in startups. At the same time, it brings up other questions on how personality traits are related to other factors associated with success, such as:

Will the recent growing focus on promoting and investing in female founders change the nature, composition and dynamics of startups and their personalities leading to a more diverse personality landscape in startups?

Will the growth of startups outside of the United States change what success looks like to investors and hence the role of different personality traits and their association to diverse success metrics?

Many of today’s most renowned entrepreneurs are either Baby Boomers (such as Gates, Branson, Bloomberg) or Generation Xers (such as Benioff, Cannon-Brookes, Musk). However, as we can see, personality is both a predictor and driver of success in entrepreneurship. Will generation-wide differences in personality and outlook affect startups and their success?

Moreover, the findings shown here have natural extensions and applications beyond startups, such as for new projects within large established companies. While not technically startups, many large enterprises and industries such as construction, engineering and the film industry rely on forming new project-based, cross-functional teams that are often new ventures and share many characteristics of startups.

There is also potential for extending this research in other settings in government, NGOs, and within the research community. In scientific research, for example, team diversity in terms of age, ethnicity and gender has been shown to be predictive of impact, and personality diversity may be another critical dimension 52 .

Another extension of the study could investigate the development of the language used by startup founders on social media over time. Such an extension could investigate whether the language (and inferred psychological characteristics) change as the entrepreneurs’ ventures go through major business events such as foundation, funding, or exit.

Overall, this study demonstrates, first, that startup founders have significantly different personalities than employees. Secondly, besides firm-level factors, which are known to influence firm success, we show that a range of founder-level factors, notably the character traits of its founders, significantly impact a startup’s likelihood of success. Lastly, we looked at team-level factors. We discovered in a multifactor analysis that personality-diverse teams have the most considerable impact on the probability of a startup’s success, underlining the importance of personality diversity as a relevant factor of team performance and success.

Data sources

Entrepreneurs dataset.

Data about the founders of startups were collected from Crunchbase (Table  2 ), an open reference platform for business information about private and public companies, primarily early-stage startups. It is one of the largest and most comprehensive data sets of its kind and has been used in over 100 peer-reviewed research articles about economic and managerial research.

Crunchbase contains data on over two million companies - mainly startup companies and the companies who partner with them, acquire them and invest in them, as well as profiles on well over one million individuals active in the entrepreneurial ecosystem worldwide from over 200 countries and spans. Crunchbase started in the technology startup space, and it now covers all sectors, specifically focusing on entrepreneurship, investment and high-growth companies.

While Crunchbase contains data on over one million individuals in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, some are not entrepreneurs or startup founders but play other roles, such as investors, lawyers or executives at companies that acquire startups. To create a subset of only entrepreneurs, we selected a subset of 32,732 who self-identify as founders and co-founders (by job title) and who are also publicly active on the social media platform Twitter. We also removed those who also are venture capitalists to distinguish between investors and founders.

We selected founders active on Twitter to be able to use natural language processing to infer their Big Five personality features using an open-vocabulary approach shown to be accurate in the previous research by analysing users’ unstructured text, such as Twitter posts in our case. For this project, as with previous research 20 , we employed a commercial service, IBM Watson Personality Insight, to infer personality facets. This service provides raw scores and percentile scores of Big Five Domains (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Emotional Stability) and the corresponding 30 subdomains or facets. In addition, the public content of Twitter posts was collected, and there are 32,732 profiles that each had enough Twitter posts (more than 150 words) to get relatively accurate personality scores (less than 12.7% Average Mean Absolute Error).

The entrepreneurs’ dataset is analysed in combination with other data about the companies they founded to explore questions about the nature and patterns of personality traits of entrepreneurs and the relationships between these patterns and company success.

For the multifactor analysis, we further filtered the data in several preparatory steps for the success prediction modelling (for more details, see SI section  A.5 ). In particular, we removed data points with missing values (Extended Data Fig.  13 ) and kept only companies in the data that were founded from 1990 onward to ensure consistency with previous research 32 (see Extended Data Fig.  14 ). After cleaning, filtering and pre-processing the data, we ended up with data from 25,214 founders who founded 21,187 startup companies to be used in the multifactor analysis. Of those, 3442 startups in the data were successful, 2362 in the first seven years after they were founded (see Extended Data Figure  15 for more details).

Entrepreneurs and employees dataset

To investigate whether startup founders show personality traits that are similar or different from the population at large (i. e. the entrepreneurs vs employees sub-analysis shown in Fig.  1 A and B), we filtered the entrepreneurs’ data further: we reduced the sample to those founders of companies, which attracted more than US$100k in investment to create a reference set of successful entrepreneurs (n \(=\) 4400).

To create a control group of employees who are not also entrepreneurs or very unlikely to be of have been entrepreneurs, we leveraged the fact that while some occupational titles like CEO, CTO and Public Speaker are commonly shared by founders and co-founders, some others such as Cashier , Zoologist and Detective very rarely co-occur seem to be founders or co-founders. To illustrate, many company founders also adopt regular occupation titles such as CEO or CTO. Many founders will be Founder and CEO or Co-founder and CTO. While founders are often CEOs or CTOs, the reverse is not necessarily true, as many CEOs are professional executives that were not involved in the establishment or ownership of the firm.

Using data from LinkedIn, we created an Entrepreneurial Occupation Index (EOI) based on the ratio of entrepreneurs for each of the 624 occupations used in a previous study of occupation-personality fit 44 . It was calculated based on the percentage of all people working in the occupation from LinkedIn compared to those who shared the title Founder or Co-founder (See SI section  A.2 for more details). A reference set of employees (n=6685) was then selected across the 112 different occupations with the lowest propensity for entrepreneurship (less than 0.5% EOI) from a large corpus of Twitter users with known occupations, which is also drawn from the previous occupational-personality fit study 44 .

These two data sets were used to test whether it may be possible to distinguish successful entrepreneurs from successful employees based on the different patterns of personality traits alone.

Hierarchical clustering

We applied several clustering techniques and tests to the personality vectors of the entrepreneurs’ data set to determine if there are natural clusters and, if so, how many are the optimum number.

Firstly, to determine if there is a natural typology to founder personalities, we applied the Hopkins statistic—a statistical test we used to answer whether the entrepreneurs’ dataset contains inherent clusters. It measures the clustering tendency based on the ratio of the sum of distances of real points within a sample of the entrepreneurs’ dataset to their nearest neighbours and the sum of distances of randomly selected artificial points from a simulated uniform distribution to their nearest neighbours in the real entrepreneurs’ dataset. The ratio measures the difference between the entrepreneurs’ data distribution and the simulated uniform distribution, which tests the randomness of the data. The range of Hopkins statistics is from 0 to 1. The scores are close to 0, 0.5 and 1, respectively, indicating whether the dataset is uniformly distributed, randomly distributed or highly clustered.

To cluster the founders by personality facets, we used Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (AHC)—a bottom-up approach that treats an individual data point as a singleton cluster and then iteratively merges pairs of clusters until all data points are included in the single big collection. Ward’s linkage method is used to choose the pair of groups for minimising the increase in the within-cluster variance after combining. AHC was widely applied to clustering analysis since a tree hierarchy output is more informative and interpretable than K-means. Dendrograms were used to visualise the hierarchy to provide the perspective of the optimal number of clusters. The heights of the dendrogram represent the distance between groups, with lower heights representing more similar groups of observations. A horizontal line through the dendrogram was drawn to distinguish the number of significantly different clusters with higher heights. However, as it is not possible to determine the optimum number of clusters from the dendrogram, we applied other clustering performance metrics to analyse the optimal number of groups.

A range of Clustering performance metrics were used to help determine the optimal number of clusters in the dataset after an apparent clustering tendency was confirmed. The following metrics were implemented to evaluate the differences between within-cluster and between-cluster distances comprehensively: Dunn Index, Calinski-Harabasz Index, Davies-Bouldin Index and Silhouette Index. The Dunn Index measures the ratio of the minimum inter-cluster separation and the maximum intra-cluster diameter. At the same time, the Calinski-Harabasz Index improves the measurement of the Dunn Index by calculating the ratio of the average sum of squared dispersion of inter-cluster and intra-cluster. The Davies-Bouldin Index simplifies the process by treating each cluster individually. It compares the sum of the average distance among intra-cluster data points to the cluster centre of two separate groups with the distance between their centre points. Finally, the Silhouette Index is the overall average of the silhouette coefficients for each sample. The coefficient measures the similarity of the data point to its cluster compared with the other groups. Higher scores of the Dunn, Calinski-Harabasz and Silhouette Index and a lower score of the Davies-Bouldin Index indicate better clustering configuration.

Classification modelling

Classification algorithms.

To obtain a comprehensive and robust conclusion in the analysis predicting whether a given set of personality traits corresponds to an entrepreneur or an employee, we explored the following classifiers: Naïve Bayes, Elastic Net regularisation, Support Vector Machine, Random Forest, Gradient Boosting and Stacked Ensemble. The Naïve Bayes classifier is a probabilistic algorithm based on Bayes’ theorem with assumptions of independent features and equiprobable classes. Compared with other more complex classifiers, it saves computing time for large datasets and performs better if the assumptions hold. However, in the real world, those assumptions are generally violated. Elastic Net regularisation combines the penalties of Lasso and Ridge to regularise the Logistic classifier. It eliminates the limitation of multicollinearity in the Lasso method and improves the limitation of feature selection in the Ridge method. Even though Elastic Net is as simple as the Naïve Bayes classifier, it is more time-consuming. The Support Vector Machine (SVM) aims to find the ideal line or hyperplane to separate successful entrepreneurs and employees in this study. The dividing line can be non-linear based on a non-linear kernel, such as the Radial Basis Function Kernel. Therefore, it performs well on high-dimensional data while the ’right’ kernel selection needs to be tuned. Random Forest (RF) and Gradient Boosting Trees (GBT) are ensembles of decision trees. All trees are trained independently and simultaneously in RF, while a new tree is trained each time and corrected by previously trained trees in GBT. RF is a more robust and straightforward model since it does not have many hyperparameters to tune. GBT optimises the objective function and learns a more accurate model since there is a successive learning and correction process. Stacked Ensemble combines all existing classifiers through a Logistic Regression. Better than bagging with only variance reduction and boosting with only bias reduction, the ensemble leverages the benefit of model diversity with both lower variance and bias. All the above classification algorithms distinguish successful entrepreneurs and employees based on the personality matrix.

Evaluation metrics

A range of evaluation metrics comprehensively explains the performance of a classification prediction. The most straightforward metric is accuracy, which measures the overall portion of correct predictions. It will mislead the performance of an imbalanced dataset. The F1 score is better than accuracy by combining precision and recall and considering the False Negatives and False Positives. Specificity measures the proportion of detecting the true negative rate that correctly identifies employees, while Positive Predictive Value (PPV) calculates the probability of accurately predicting successful entrepreneurs. Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUROC) determines the capability of the algorithm to distinguish between successful entrepreneurs and employees. A higher value means the classifier performs better on separating the classes.

Feature importance

To further understand and interpret the classifier, it is critical to identify variables with significant predictive power on the target. Feature importance of tree-based models measures Gini importance scores for all predictors, which evaluate the overall impact of the model after cutting off the specific feature. The measurements consider all interactions among features. However, it does not provide insights into the directions of impacts since the importance only indicates the ability to distinguish different classes.

Statistical analysis

T-test, Cohen’s D and two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test are introduced to explore how the mean values and distributions of personality facets between entrepreneurs and employees differ. The T-test is applied to determine whether the mean of personality facets of two group samples are significantly different from one another or not. The facets with significant differences detected by the hypothesis testing are critical to separate the two groups. Cohen’s d is to measure the effect size of the results of the previous t-test, which is the ratio of the mean difference to the pooled standard deviation. A larger Cohen’s d score indicates that the mean difference is greater than the variability of the whole sample. Moreover, it is interesting to check whether the two groups’ personality facets’ probability distributions are from the same distribution through the two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. There is no assumption about the distributions, but the test is sensitive to deviations near the centre rather than the tail.

Privacy and ethics

The focus of this research is to provide high-level insights about groups of startups, founders and types of founder teams rather than on specific individuals or companies. While we used unit record data from the publicly available data of company profiles from Crunchbase , we removed all identifiers from the underlying data on individual companies and founders and generated aggregate results, which formed the basis for our analysis and conclusions.

Data availability

A dataset which includes only aggregated statistics about the success of startups and the factors that influence is released as part of this research. Underlying data for all figures and the code to reproduce them are available on GitHub: https://github.com/Braesemann/FounderPersonalities . Please contact Fabian Braesemann ( [email protected] ) in case you have any further questions.

Change history

07 may 2024.

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-61082-7

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Acknowledgements

We thank Gary Brewer from BuiltWith ; Leni Mayo from Influx , Rachel Slattery from TeamSlatts and Daniel Petre from AirTree Ventures for their ongoing generosity and insights about startups, founders and venture investments. We also thank Tim Li from Crunchbase for advice and liaison regarding data on startups and Richard Slatter for advice and referrals in Twitter .

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All authors designed research; All authors analysed data and undertook investigation; F.B. and F.S. led multi-factor analysis; P.M., X.G. and M.A.R. led the founder/employee prediction; M.L.K. led personality insights; X.G. collected and tabulated the data; X.G., F.B., and F.S. created figures; X.G. created final art, and all authors wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Fabian Braesemann .

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The original online version of this Article was revised: The Data Availability section in the original version of this Article was incomplete, the link to the GitHub repository was omitted. Full information regarding the corrections made can be found in the correction for this Article.

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McCarthy, P.X., Gong, X., Braesemann, F. et al. The impact of founder personalities on startup success. Sci Rep 13 , 17200 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41980-y

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Life after Caitlin Clark: How Iowa and Jan Jensen plan to keep the same winning blueprint

Two weeks ago, Iowa coach Lisa Bluder walked out of her corner office, moseyed 20 feet down the hall, and poked her head in assistant Jan Jensen’s office. Bluder had just made her retirement public and the university named Jensen — her longtime associate head coach — her successor.

“I promise I won’t leave you too much junk in there,” Bluder told her, motioning back to her (and soon-to-be Jensen’s) office.

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Bluder and her staff have been in these offices for more than a decade since the building was renovated, and like any well-lived space, things have accumulated. Photos, letters, trophies, plaques — you name it. Any free tabletop is fair game for storing scouting reports and box scores. In recent seasons, as the wins piled up, more rings and pieces of net took up space, too.

The move is a long time coming. During her 30-year career, Jensen has had several opportunities to leave her spot as an assistant under Bluder, but it was never the right decision until now when she’ll make the move one seat to the right on the bench and two doors down the hallway.

“Nobody loves this place like I do.” @goiowa x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/etkzPEOikO — Iowa Women’s Basketball (@IowaWBB) May 16, 2024

They have known each other too long for Bluder to not leave a letter or surprise of some sort for the coach taking over her program, her friend continuing the Iowa legacy. They met almost four decades ago when Bluder recruited Jensen to play for her at Drake . Jensen enjoyed a decorated playing career, and Bluder ended up recruiting her again — this time as a coach at Drake, two years after graduating.

Since then, the view to Jensen’s right in every home game she has ever coached has been of Bluder. Now, Jensen will occupy the end of the bench. The junk Bluder might leave in her office? That might fit the “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure” adage as any new coach would be happy to stumble upon discarded scouting reports and random scribbles from a mentor. But the program Bluder leaves behind? It sits at a peak and a crossroads.

Iowa women’s basketball has never been as far-reaching a brand as it is now. With two consecutive trips to the national title game and Caitlin Clark , one of the most recognizable athletes in the country, helping move women’s college basketball into the spotlight, the Hawkeyes brand is unmissable.

Jensen has felt that on the recruiting trail. With the Big Ten expanding West — adding USC , UCLA , Oregon and Washington next season — she knew that the Hawkeyes might be able to also expand their recruiting footprint. But as Iowa’s ascendancy matched the timing of conference expansion, the uptick in interest from players outside of the Hawkeyes’ typical recruiting circles has been significant.

“It’s great timing, because now kids in California, they’re definitely watching Iowa and saying, ‘Oh, wow, who’s this team from Iowa? Who’s this player?’ And then they’re seeing how we play,” Jensen said. “We’ve been able to recruit farther, but we’re certainly not going to abandon a formula that’s worked so well for us.”

Over the last two decades, 72 percent of Hawkeyes players have come from Iowa or a border state. Another 19 percent hailed from Michigan, Ohio or Indiana. But in the 2024 and 2025 classes, Iowa’s expanding reach is on full display. Ava Heiden, the No. 42 player in the 2024 class, is from Oregon, and though she committed before either Final Four run, Iowa’s success with post players like Megan Gustafson and Monika Czinano — players she watched on national broadcasts — was a big reason she committed. In the 2025 class, No. 12 Addie Deal became the first Californian to commit to Iowa in more than 20 years and just the third top-15 recruit in the last 15 years (Clark and Sam Logic, 2010, were the others). In this offseason’s transfer portal, the Hawkeyes snagged Villanova ’s Lucy Olsen — a top guard from Pennsylvania, who has one year of eligibility remaining.

Iowa lands guard Lucy Olsen, transfer from Villanova

Jensen said that Iowa always attempted to recruit top players who the staff felt would be a fit no matter what state they lived in. Yet, even when they could get on the phone with these players, getting them to consider a visit (or even a commitment) to Iowa, was often a pretty long bridge. “It’s getting shorter,” Jensen said.

The path ahead will have its challenges, Jensen knows. Learning moments and stumbling blocks exist for every new coach, but Jensen will also be navigating a transition that doesn’t include Clark, who helped weather a lot of small storms. The turnover in Iowa’s locker room in addition to Clark is significant, too — Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall , who combined for 275 starts over the last four years are also gone. Raina Harmon, Abby Stamp and Tania Davis remain on the coaching staff, but Jensen needs to hire two coaches to replace Bluder and assistant Jenni Fitzgerald, who also retired after 24 seasons.

Jensen sees this situation as the perfect scenario for her as a first-time head coach. She takes over a program with enough cohesion in its coaching staff and basketball philosophy for players to still feel comfortable. (The Hawkeyes didn’t lose any players to the portal.) Jensen also inherits a program with enough history and recent success to negate a need to recreate the wheel. Yet, as with any new coach, there are areas to improve and change to make Iowa distinctively hers.

“The template we have here,” Jensen said, “it’s pretty doggone good.”

(Photo of Jan Jensen: Matthew Holst / Getty Images)

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Is Trump going to prison? What to know about the possible sentence after his conviction

By Kaia Hubbard

Updated on: May 31, 2024 / 6:48 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — Former President  Donald Trump was found guilty  on all charges in his New York "hush money" trial on Thursday, and the judge overseeing the case will soon venture into uncharted territory to determine whether a former president should be imprisoned for a felony conviction for the first time.

Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence before the 2016 presidential election. The jury in Manhattan returned its guilty verdict after a trial that stretched six weeks and featured more than 20 witnesses. 

Each of the 34 felony charges carries up to a $5,000 fine and four-year prison sentence. But whether Trump will go to prison is another question — one that's up to the judge at sentencing.

When will Trump be sentenced?

The judge set a July 11 date for sentencing following the jury's verdict on Thursday. 

The timing is in line with similar white-collar felony cases, where sentencing often takes place anywhere from three to eight weeks after conviction, according to Dan Horwitz, a defense lawyer who formerly prosecuted white-collar cases for the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

The sentencing will happen four days before the start of the Republican National Convention.

What to expect from sentencing

The minimum sentence for falsifying business records in the first degree is zero, so Trump could receive probation or conditional discharge, a sentence of no jail or up to four years for each offense. Trump would likely be ordered to serve the prison time concurrently for each count, so up to four years, total. 

"The judge could sentence him to anything between zero and the max," Horwitz said. "So he could sentence him to a period of months in jail, he could sentence him to a period of weeks in jail, he could sentence him to a sentence where he is required, for example, to go to jail every weekend for a period of time and then serve the rest of the sentence on probation."

In an analysis of comparable cases brought by the Manhattan district attorney's office, Norm Eisen, who has written a book about Trump's 2020 election-related federal indictment and served as special counsel in the first impeachment of the former president, found that about 10% resulted in imprisonment. But the circumstances surrounding the case make any across-the-board comparison difficult. 

Trump could also be sentenced to home detention, where he would wear an ankle bracelet and be monitored rather than going to jail. Horwitz suggested that a home detention sentence, which walks a middle ground between no punishment and a stint in state prison, might be the most likely outcome. It would also satisfy Trump's unusual security and political situation. 

A home detention sentence would also make it possible for Trump to continue campaigning — albeit virtually — with the ability to hold news conferences and remain active on social media. Throughout the trial, Justice Juan Merchan stressed the importance of allowing Trump the ability to campaign and exercise his First Amendment rights as he seeks another term in the White House . But it's just part of the equation that the judge must weigh in his decision. 

In an interview on CNN after the verdict, Trump attorney Todd Blanche was asked if he expected prosecutors to seek jail time. "I have no idea," Blanche replied. "Look, there's there's a system in place that that where you rely on precedent, and somebody like President Trump should never, never face a jail sentence based on this conduct."

What will the judge consider in Trump's sentencing?

There are a number of factors that the court can take into consideration for sentencing, including the nature and extent of the conduct, who was hurt, whether there are victims, and acceptance of responsibility, Horwitz said. Trump has repeatedly denied any guilt in the case.

"Courts will credit a defendant who pleads guilty by accepting responsibility for their conduct, as opposed to not accepting responsibility going into trial and getting convicted," Horwitz added, saying that "the sentence after a trial because you didn't accept responsibility is more stringent than it would have otherwise been."

A defendant's conduct during the trial may also play a role, so Trump's repeated violation of Merchan's gag order may be a significant factor in his sentencing. During the trial, Trump was accused over a dozen times of violating a gag order preventing him from making public comments about likely witnesses, jurors, attorneys and court staff involved in the case. 

Trump's sentencing may also be complicated by the lifetime Secret Service protection that he's afforded as a former president. The issue came up during the trial, when the judge held Trump in contempt for violating a gag order . Though Trump faced multiple fines, the judge expressed that jailing Trump was "the last thing I want to do" because it would have disrupted the trial and presented challenges for the Secret Service agents tasked with protecting the former president. 

"Today's outcome has no bearing on the manner in which the United States Secret Service carries out its protective mission," the Secret Service said in a statement provided to CBS News following the verdict. "Our security measures will proceed unchanged."  

Trump's imprisonment would likely need to include a rotation of Secret Service officers, and he would need to be isolated from other inmates. The former president's food and personal items would likely need to be screened for his protection, among other logistical considerations. 

"For all settings around the world, we study locations and develop comprehensive and layered protective models that incorporate state of the art technology, protective intelligence and advanced security tactics to safeguard our protectees," Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Service's chief of communications, said before the verdict. 

No U.S. prison has ever previously had to deal with the possible imprisonment of a former president. Horwitz said there are mechanisms for inmates in protective custody at state correctional facilities and jails, but how the process would actually work remains to be seen. 

After Trump's conviction on Thursday, the Secret Service said in a new statement that "today's outcome has no bearing on the manner in which the United States Secret Service carries out its protective mission. Our security measures will proceed unchanged." 

Where could Trump be imprisoned?

Should Trump be sentenced to a period of home detention, the former president could carry out the sentence outside of New York, for instance, at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where New York state would coordinate with Florida's probation department, which would monitor Trump's confinement, Horwitz said. 

In the event that Trump is sentenced to jail time, the location would depend on the duration of his sentence.

If Trump faces more than one year in jail, New York law requires that his sentence be served in a New York penal facility. But if his sentence is shorter than a year, it would be served in a New York City correctional facility, such as Rikers Island. 

What comes next? 

Trump could seek to stay the execution of any sentence pending appeal, meaning that he wouldn't have to start serving the sentence until an appeals court makes a decision, which is not uncommon in white collar cases in New York federal courts, Horwitz said. The move could delay any jail time until the election — or even beyond.

In any case, though possible imprisonment raises some hurdles for Trump's presidential campaign, his conviction does not restrict him from continuing to run — even if he's behind bars.

Olivia Rinaldi and Jake Rosen contributed reporting.

• Donald Trump

Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.

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