The Meaning of Success

In his famous song "Woman," John Lennon thanked Yoko Ono for showing him "the meaning of success."

This implies many things. To begin with it implies that one can have success without comprehending its meaning.

We generally look at success as the aquisition of wealth, fame and power. Having it we expect that it will tremendously expand our range of choices and actions, which we can implement at a moment's notice. If we wake up in the morning and feel like buying a small village in Australia, we should be able to do so.....:-)

And of course, we have our media-fed examples of how success looks like: Bill Gates, the movie stars and others that project god-like images onto the screens of our consiousness. Indeed ... we believe that success will make us god-like. And to be god-like means to be invulnerable to human suffering and limitations and have the power to do whatever we want to.

So goes the fantasy.

As long as we do not exist in the domain of success that involves money, fame, etc, we can entertain delusions of this kind. However, once people actually reach this level of success, there arises the most painful recognition that one remains vulnerable and subject to many types of misfortunes. One continues to be mysteriously unprotected. (Ask Michael J. Fox) The tremendous disappointment that comes in the wake of recognizing the unexpected impotence of worldly success then at times can be converted into excessive, addictive behaviour, aimed at anesthesizing the one found success, but cannot answer the question that comes with it, which is "NOW WHAT?"

This question now enters into the picture and it demands attention, even if the individual lacks the capacity to consciously verbalize it and reflect on it.
While "making it" is often considered the end goal, those "who have made it"" find out that this does not provide meaning for one's life, nor fulfillment. Again, this recognition comes with a deep shock to the system.

Could success be merely the beginning of something else? What might that be?

John Lennon contemplated deeply this question, WHAT IS THE MEANING OF SUCCESS? Apparently he felt that he found the answer with the help of Yoko Ono.

What is success? Who is a successful person?

These are questions of profound existential importance. Like Koans, they can be solved by diving deep into the center of one's own being --- before or after success hits.