One of the most important things in life is success. It is what drives people. It is a source of fulfillment for many. There are varied ways to measure success. The most popular (and most attacked) is through money. This essay sets out to prove that money is a good way to measure success.
The Problem Of Measuring Success
Success means different things to different people. For some, it could mean having a happy home. Other might define it in terms of careers. While some other simple want to put a smile on someone’s face. Because of the unique perspectives to success, there is the problem of deciding on a standard measurement for success.
Over time, a few standards have emerged and are gaining widespread acceptance. These include: “Does it make you happy?”, “Will it matter in future?”, “Was it commensurate to the price paid for it?”, “How much money does it bring?”, and “Does it bring respect and recognition from those that matter to you?”.
Each of these standards will be explored in subsequent essays. Right now, our concern is how effective money is in measuring success.
How Much Money Does It Bring?
Let’s face it, money rules the world. Even the slogan of Steemit says it all: “Come for the REWARD, stay for the community.” Everyone is to a certain degree, interested in the reward. We want to know that our efforts bring something in return. Now, there are several kinds of rewards: verbal, pecuniary, spiritual, emotional and all. But we are talking about pecuniary rewards.
That money is a good way to measure success is best proven from the economic perspective. When you create something, the value is often decided how much people are willing to pay for it. For instance, if you develop a recipe for The Amazing Gray Chicken, you might be able to set your price at the beginning. However, it is left to your customers to decide if the price should go up or come down. Say, for instance, no one visits your restaurant, you might conclude that no one values it. As such, you could either try to sell at a lower price or close shop, move to another location or try something else.
Imagine, on the flip side, people come pouring in, eager for a taste of The Amazing Gray Chicken, how would you feel? You’ll feel valued. You’ll feel your recipe was a great success. Why? Because people are willing to exchange something of value (money) for your chicken.
Money Is A Store Of Value
In our age, money is a store of value. You can quote all the philosophical you know but the point remains that if people aren't ready to give you their money for what you are offering, then they don’t see the value of what you're offering. It could be their fault or yours, but the fact remains: At that point, your product/service doesn't have any value.
At this point, you can argue that it’s all insane. Why should mere printed paper be the standard of what has value or not. Well, that printed paper can make a lot of things happen. That printed paper is a receipt of the value people see in what you offer. That printed paper is what ultimately decides if your project is a success or a failure.
Success and value are tied together, at least from the external view. On your own, you can think of several ways to measure success. But in the eye of the general public, how much money you make proves to a great degree how successful you are. You might be doing the wrong thing but it certainly shows you are successful in doing the wrong thing.
Money Defines Success
Whether we like it or not, money defines success. That is why people work so hard to get money - maybe too hard. But it is the truth. Right now, as I develop this piece, I want it to have value, great value. On Steemit, for instance, there are only three ways to measure the success (value) of any post: Payout worth, comments and resteems. Of those three, the one that attracts ‘passers-by’ more is the payout. Great payout (without voting bots) indicate great value, thereby making the piece a success.
If you still have disagreements, I perfectly understand. There are so many other ways to measure success, why should money always come out top? Well, I wish I had an answer for that. But I don’t. it is just how the system works. I mean, think of the most successful companies, bankers, lawyers, writers, artists and all. Every one that comes to your mind has plenty of money in the vault (or so they tell us.)
Whether we agree or not, money defines success. We can hate it, protest against it and all of that. It is just how the system works. Regardless of whether it is paper money, digital money or cryptocurrencies, money defines success.
The Problem With Money As A Measurement Of Success.
At this juncture, if you still have disagreements, it is because money can easily be ‘hijacked’. Already, more money is concentrated in the hands of a few (both on Steemit and in the real world). That means a few individuals can decide to confer great or no value on something regardless of popular opinion.
That said, we should realize the following:
- First, no measurement of success is foolproof. If a human came up with with, another human can think of a way to cheat it. Finding the perfect measurement for success is an impossible task due to its subjective nature.
- Next, it is (sometimes) always obvious when an item is given more value than it deserves. This is strictly speaking from the popular point of view. For instance, if a leather shoe costs $100 and someone offers $1000, we could assume the buyer is showing off or simply wants to be generous. So we can tell when value has been inflated. (From the personal point of view, it could be the shoe is really worth $1000 in the eyes of the buyer.)
- Lastly, money shouldn't be used as the only measurement of success. As we will discover in subsequent articles, there are other ways to measure success. When these ways are combined together, we are more likely to gain a good perspective on whether success has been achieved.
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