So, I just want to talk about success for a while. How do you measure success?
Or is it even possible to measure success?
If yes, who is the right person to take the measurement?
If you're answering these questions, great. We can talk more.
I'll tell you a story. One of a young boy/man with demons in his head.
Well, not the kind of demons you grew up knowing, but the kind we all grew up creating.
The demons that constantly drive you to take that extra pack of cigarettes; yep, those ones that show you the closest harmful weapon whenever there's a slight argument or fight.
These demons aren't too different from the ones that spend all day in your head telling you you're a worthless scam, and that you're not meant for good things.
This young boy/man has lived with these self and society-created demons and keeps losing the battle to break-up with them.
But one day, after long weeks of sleeping with eyes open, wishing his heart would stop beating, dying and returning to life, he does.
He wins the battle!
Scarred though he was, he had won the battle. He knew he had successfully defeated his demons. He's happy.
Nobody believes him!
Wait, nobody even knew he had been fighting a battle! But that's not even the point.
He goes to meet his family. There's that newfound joy within him. The type you can't express with words. The joy every successful person has.
He rushes to them β his family, grinning to his aged parents, carrying his younger siblings in his hands. Yep, he's the eldest. They're all looking at him. They don't get it.
His sister rushes out to look for a car in the compound. She thinks a new car might just be the reason her brother is excited. She finds nothing.
The mother is staring curiously. The father is adjusting his stool waiting for the big news.
Well, it wasn't the "1 million naira contract" news or an "I've found a wife" information they were all expecting.
It was nothing.
Just a young man smiling like a fool.
There's a lot of silence, and eventually a talk about his age and the cars and houses owned by of his mates.
He will soon embrace his demons back, as he has learned society's interpretation of success.
A success that must be gotten at whatever cost.
A kind of success he hasn't yet achieved.
But you might ask me,
βHe won the fight against depression and addiction. Doesn't that count as success?β
I'll ask you the exact same question.
βBut he won the fight against depression and addiction. Doesn't that count as success?β
Maybe we should all keep asking ourselves, and maybe, just maybe, we will be able to answer it.
Speak soon!
β Delight π