Monday, November 27, 2006

What Constitutes Success?

Some food for thought:

Which of the following people would you consider to be an overall success? Would any of them stand out above the others?

Mary has a graduate degree from Harvard, is an executive earning $300,000 a year, speaks four languages, and yet, in job after job, is hated by most of her colleagues.

Luther's goal was to become company president but he crossed some powerful people and was shunted to a side job. His family life is fine but he has hit a professional dead-end. He earns $70,000 a year, is twice as capable as people earning three times as much, and is well-respected in his professional niche.

Karen had the grades and ability to go very far, but she only wanted a relatively easy job with good benefits so she could pursue her true love: oil painting.

Roberto's wife is the main breadwinner. Roberto stays home, takes care of the children, and teaches a night class several days a week at the community college.

Carol describes herself as "married to the job." She travels on business for two weeks out of every month, has a cat that is cared for by neighbors when she's not around, is a meticulous dresser (she spends a sizable amount of money on shoes), and volunteers once a month at a shelter for battered women.

Kim got out of prison two years ago after serving four years for selling heroin, has since worked as a counselor in a drug recovery center, and has had two articles published in religious magazines on her experiences.

Carl works as a custodian. He dropped out of high school, later got a GED, has been married for 30 years, and has four children, each of whom has graduated from college. Carl's passion is fishing.

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