The Philosophy of Success and Happiness

Hotep everyone, in today's times there is a diversification and compilation of people of various backgrounds, circumstances, appurtenances, inclinations, preferences and income levels. In this world where resources and means for success, affluence, and opulence are scarce and the wants for success, happiness and wealth are unlimited, this causes competition and for lazy and incompetent people equivocation. Meaning, that the people that succeed in life work diligently, competitively and tenaciously to achieve their aspiration and stabilize themselves economically in the national stratification system. On the other hand, others who do not aspire abundant success (depending on their connotation of the word) or pessimistic and complacent people would equivocate and stabilize themselves as subordinates to the wealthy, powerful and successful people in life. In this free enterprise system there is a need for innovative, creative, optimistic and visionary minds to produce and develop products and systems to vitalize and invigorate the various economies of the world, to create job opportunities, increase the demand of money, individual prosperity and collective success and eventually/ hopefully harmony in life.

Concomitantly or additionally if one would like to ascend to power, success, wealth and happiness in life, one must understand who they are, what they would like to achieve, and how it would benefit their market. After doing this, they must be able to adequately define themselves and envision who they would like to become in their immaculateness or perfect form. Once one create, actualize and realize who they truly are, then it would be easier for one to refine, approve, edify and develop themselves to who they would like to be. Meaning that if one wants to be successful, then they would have to be knowledgeable, intelligent and confident in the trade, industry, occupation or profession they would like to get into whether it is political science, economics, urban development, accounting, literature, biology, chemistry, business administration, real estate, etc. You would have to know your interests to the point that you “got it down to a science.” After doing this or knowing you passion, you would have to think with rationality and reason so that you could control your passion and come up with logical, optimistic and creative ways to use your knowledge to create viability and happiness in your life. If one wants to achieve happiness, then they should define their own individual definition of “happiness”.

According to “Webster”; happiness is a state of well being and contentment of pleasurable satisfaction. According to Aristotle; happiness is an activity of the soul in accordance with one’s rational manner. According to the indigenous Ancient Kemetic or Egyptian (African people), happiness is when you “Know Thyself”. To compile and unify these points if one wants to obtain happiness, then they must alleviate doing or surrounding themselves with people, places or things which would leave them unhappy and work rigorously, diligently and passing all obstacle which would lead them to the end point of happiness. The going gets tough for success and true happiness, but the end point is prosperity and in the words of Thomas Paine, “the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph” so on the road to riches, one must keep the end point of happiness and success, by gaining knowledge in liberal arts, interpersonal communications, surrounding their selves with the right people who are positive goal oriented and in some circumstances in positive places, thinking optimistically and innovatively and putting forth action to actualize your goals.

The definition of success is the gaining of wealth and fame and wealth could be an abundance of money or knowledge but is one were to put for their knowledge with action, then that would equate to wealth, opulence and power. There is an old saying, saying that “knowledge is power” but from evaluating the phraseology, I believe that knowledge isn’t power unless there is action put forth behind it with the end point of happiness. According to Plato, the acquisition or accumulation of knowledge would lead to happiness or one living an ethereal or perfect life through thinking with the reason and rationality instead of thinking with emotions and desires. According, to Aristotle, he believed that human were innate with form and matter (form is the common properties of an object, person or places(s) living by its highest definition, form, ideal, purpose and nature and that the accumulation of knowledge and morals does not lead to the end point of knowledge but through the potentiality of humans, then through action, one could obtain what human’s innate aspiration of happiness.

In closing, to recapitulate the points the philosophy of happiness and success is through defining who you, know you are, your purpose in life, your inclinations and profession that you would like to enter into. By actualizing and knowing the self, defining happiness and success and gaining knowledge on the profession that you would like to enter and networking with positive people which could help maneuver you to the right direction. After doing this, one would have to work diligently, tenaciously and persistently to one’s goals and aspirations into reality. In the meantime the philosophy of success is to “learn from yesterday, live for today and plan for tomorrow”, in the words of Donald Trump; “Think Big” and not to find problems in every opportunity but to find opportunities in every problem.


Peace,


Baruti N.K.