Redefining Success

So I happen to be preparing this update on a Saturday and not the Friday. Some would be wondering why that is the case. Reminder. I am a student, and sometimes school can get on my neck.

In as much as school can get on my neck, I still get to have contact with the outside world. Probably due to my philia for the so called social networks where I have connected with people from all walks of life and liked (I guess followed would be the right word) all the online news pages, good and bad, partisan and non-partisan alike. That works for me because it makes me find all the relevant updates in one place. Updates on events, news, scandals (woe to him who broadcasts), ideologies and everything else there is to know. Good stuff.

There has been an interesting evolution in social network traffic among Malawian young people (in case some of you did not notice). Nowadays people are posting in terms of prosperity, poverty reduction, entrepreneurship, job creation, generational thinking and above that success. Of course we should also point out that some have been left behind and are still talking about swag, beer, drinks and parties. Hopefully they will join the other group.

Honestly saying, I like this whole evolutionary change in the mindsets of young Malawians. It gives me hope that I will see things work right here in Malawi in my lifetime, hope of which I had lost the moment I realized how things work in Malawi. Our minds are being turned around and oscillating at wavelengths of positivity and while some are just talking without doing anything others are on the ground working things out and producing results. Again, a good thing for those producing results.

So…

Here we are. We have a verbal positive change around us. Of the things that I have noted people to be talking about, one thing that has caught my interest is the issue of success which I think is being grossly “misdefined” in the modern day. For us to understand this whole phenomenon, I guess I have to take you through the origin of the messages that are coming through to the young people and causing this wave of change. 

Of late, there are some generous people who felt like it would be good if they shared the knowledge they have with others. The very knowledge that propelled them to the level they are. It is not a bad thing to think of it. In fact it is good. The interesting thing is that when these coaches get into training people, they share a lot of insights about how what they are teaching transformed their lives. Again, great things. Not a good thing to teach things you are not practicing. On the other hand, this has become a problem because it has, to some extent, narrowed the definition of success to the many young people out there.

The logic here is simple. If someone is in business, for example, and comes to tell you about success citing examples from his own life, you would turn towards thinking that the definition of success is having a successful business. That is pretty much the same story in academics, spirituality and pretty much any other thing you can think of.

What I have noted of late is that nowadays there is the gospel of entrepreneurship that is being preached around. Bad thing? NO! (My classmate, Jane once told me that there is such a thing called a big, fat, NO. This is the one). Toxic? Maybe.

I have heard of stories from a lot of notable people, some of whom are my friends, about how entrepreneurship turned their lives around moneywise. People would tell you how they are able to employ a certain number of people, and that is absolute success. What most of the young people are forgetting, on the other hand nowadays is that success includes but is not limited to stuff like entrepreneurship and job creation. 

You probably have figured out what the next paragraph is all about, and yes; you were right if you thought I wanted to advocate on the acceptance of diversity. Not all of us would go down into the books as employers and entrepreneurs. In fact some of us would have to work for someone or some entity and there is no inferiority in being an employee. For some reason some people have instilled into us this mindset that we don’t have to work for anyone but to have people working for us. I, to some extent, find that wrong and I will always say this that there is nothing wrong in being an employee.

Correct definition for success? In my view, success should be about the constant of achievement of preset and realistic and personalized goals in one’s life. The goals should include but should not be limited to financial success. They in fact must include a financial element. Tamvana? On the other hand, what we have to know is that there is a life outside finances. We need good families out there. Most of the readers I know are theistic (I recommend conversion if you are an atheist) so religious goals come into play too. There is also need for thinking about academic progress and those of you who are leaders need to also think about where you want to go with leadership. I shouldn’t forget about reproductive goals. Very important. 

Outroduction? In as much as we need to succeed financially (not only for ourselves, but also for our children) we don’t need to limit the definition of success to finances. There is more to it than that. The fact that we have role models who teach us the route to success does not mean we should limit our scope of thinking to theirs. It is important to get the principles of their thought process but not their very thoughts because chances are that they never read a book or got training under a coach to achieve what they achieved. 

There is a popular saying that if you don’t pursue your dreams someone else will hire you to help them pursue theirs. The popular interpretation of this entails that being employed by someone means inferiority. I could be so for someone who narrows the definition of success to financial gains. For someone who thinks in terms of making impact, it is a different story. There are some dreams worth fulfilment and if people have them they just need to be supported. Nothing wrong with that.

Young man! Young lady! You are part of the golden generation in this nation. Thank you for joining the club of positive thinkers, but for now it is high time you made your personal definition of success.

Consider this an epistle.

Richie.