There is not an equation between success and happiness

There are only two tragedies in the world. One is to get what you want, and one is to get it. An Oscar Wilde

The hardest part of success is that you need to be successful all the time. One Irving • Berlin

What is success? Most people claim to know the answer when they see these two words, but they know very little about the word's inner wine. I published a book in 1986 that used two chapters to explain the definition of success, and I'm not sure if I've gotten to the bottom of the little ideas conveyed by these American dreams. In the process, my main concern is how to distinguish between successful people and people who are just very rich.

Because the risk of stabilizing a career (such as doing academic research) is much smaller than that of other occupations (such as securities investment). For example, it would be unreasonable to say that an investor with an annual salary of one million dollars is far more successful than a world-renowned historian who earns $200,000 a year. According to my corollary in 1936, being a successful person requires both material reward and social status. If you make a career, be at the top of the list in a field, and be recognized by your peers, you are successful.

Observant people must have found that my definition is incomplete. When I built this theory, the U.S. was in vogue, Masters of the Universe was highly regarded, and Reagan economics had people believe that there would be a Mercedes in every garage and a Rolex on everyone's wrist. While rapid economic growth is destined to continue, American attitudes are gradually shifting. Nowadays people are looking for ways to make more money and no longer enjoy the fun of money as they used to. Clearly, these phenomena urgently need to be changed, regardless of the definition of success or its role.

In a survey organized by the University of Michigan, participants were asked what they hoped would change their lives, and the most common answer was "more money." Studies have shown that while U.S. per capita after-tax income doubled at least double from 1960 to 1990, the percentage of people who consider themselves "very happy" remained largely unchanged, remaining at about 30 percent of the total population. In addition, studies have found that very few of the wealthiest people in the United States are happier than the average person.

Unfortunately, this data is only known to a few researchers, and Americans such as "success = materiality" and "wealth = happiness" are well known throughout the country, and they firmly believe that there is intrinsic value in winning the first place in the competition. We are in an era of consumers, paying more attention to the relationship between material accumulation and self-worth. Some argue that "whoever has the most wealth when he dies wins" is the definition of typical American success. Others are also busy using materials to prove which class they belong to.

Americans care a lot about the "best" and "worst" lists, such as the Fortune 500, Forbes 400 Fucha list, and even fashion designer Blackwell's worst dress list. But to speak of the basic definition of success that Americans generally agree on, let's recall what rugby coach Vince Lombardi said, "Victory is not everything, but it is unique." "We subconsciously believe that in addition to wealth, the winner can also gain appreciation from others and satisfy his own psychology.

However, these definitions of success do not explain the biggest problem in this book: the relationship between success and happiness – or more accurately, assuming a correlation between them. For most Americans, success is more of an end. As Christopher Rush points out, the function slowly instills a sense of self-affirmation. Therefore, it is necessary to define success in terms of operational research, that is, success includes material rewards and prominent positions, and also includes the legendary effect of self-image in it. Studies have shown that while status gains and material rewards can give children a better life, this is not necessary. In fact, the feeling of success is by no means what people who aspire to success expect.