Seeking Success

When I was seven, I never knew what success meant. All I knew was that I should be approved by my teachers. And now I can see that this approval I cherished at that time was merely success. I was seeking success, but did not know what it was for, nor did I know how to seek it. And everyone at some point in his or her life has already sought success. When we were at that age, our teachers very well knew who deserved success and who did not. As pupils, we were not as aware of feeling success at the time as we are today. Here, the notion of success varies with time and age.

As I was groping for some quotes about success by Mark Twain the other day, I came across a very intriguing one which might make some of us hold our heads in awe because it may appear out of place at first. It runs thus: All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure. I spent some time rereading and contemplating the quote until I came up with a humble understanding of it. Of course, anyone can come up with different understandings of it.

For me, like anyone else, Mark Twain, an American novelist and short story writer, experienced failure many a time before becoming a writer during both his childhood and adulthood. And only those who have already tasted the bitterness of failure can tell you what success really means and how you can attain it. This instantly reminds me of Emily Dickinson’s two powerful verses: “ Success is counted sweetest by those who never succeed”. However, this does not necessarily mean that you will surely arrive at success overnight.

Coming back to Mark Twain, I believe that he deems success as merely something that does not need or require efforts and assiduity so as to be achieved. Ignorance and confidence suffice in this case. I am certain that at first the meaning must sound paradoxical. However, by contemplating it more closely, we find that the fact expressed here is also a truism, especially in these days. Overnight, many people succeed in many aspects of their lives without even knowing how and why. I am not blaming anyone here for becoming successful, nor am I alluding to their undeservedness. Quite the contrary, I am only talking from the point of view of Mark twain.

Twain could simply be referring to those who obtain positions without deserving them. And the category he is talking about here are known to be ignorant and confident. This means that feigning confidence without having any knowledge of one’s field or gray matter are sufficient for making money or landing a job. Here, I could not help remembering hundreds of teachers who are hired year after year. I know many students who are knowledgeable, but not confident. As far as my experience is concerned, rarely do the latter category succeed in that they do not possess the two attributes described by Twain.

In my high school, I used to fail from time to time, but could never make out why. Now I can ascribe my failure and that of others to the above-mentioned reasons. Certainly, no one can deny that those who succeed are normally confident, but not necessarily knowledgeable. The same thing can be true of ignorant and confident people. Then , I have come to the conclusion that confidence is a mere criterion whereby success is most of the time determined. As regards ignorance and knowledge, it is surely our interviewers who are expected to opt for one of these remaining criteria along with confidence.

It is so sad to hear of people being victims of these criteria. The impact of this lies in that making an effort to attain success in life will no longer concern, or appeal to, aspiring or rather latent geniuses. While trying hard to let go of this thorny issue, I unawares came up with a simple poem touching on the same topic. It runs thus:

By the Bridge

Listen! water is permeating through the rocks
No passer-by pays any heed;
Their attention I frankly need
To figure out our lock.

A ripple I instantly made,
Lest somebody should see the difference
Alas, I was shown the same indifference;
Maybe I would rather seek some other aid.

The minute I crossed it,
Hurriedly everybody came,
Asking what had become of me
Nothing in particular, I answered.
It is merely a riddle figured.