Success What is it, and who defines it?

As little children, we know how to live in the moment and be completely authentic. But then something damaging happens to us, according to author Don Miguel Ruiz: We are given “knowledge” about how to live in the world. Parents tell us how to behave in order to be a “good” boy or girl. Teachers tell us what it takes to be a “winner” or a “successful” adult. This collective “voice of knowledge” is not only false–it is often poisonous, explains Ruiz, bestselling author of The Four Agreements.

This collective “knowledge” is based on our geographical, political, social, and economic upbringing. This “knowledge” binds us together as a tribe, community, city, or country.

In today’s western society, our shared knowledge or belief system provides us with a standard definition of success. For many in the world, success is portrayed solely in economic goals and achievements. 

Money, capital wealth, seniority, notoriety, the number of followers on social media they have, respect, and prestige are some of the many aspirations men, women, and children in North America are currently striving for. These goals can also be ideologically linked to the American Dream – traditional social ideals such as equality, democracy, and material prosperity.

Depending on your cultural and geographic region of where you were raised and where you are reading this book, your current mindset may not have you believe in the American Dream. Still, I suspect you definitely know about it because it is everywhere on TV, the internet, mainstream advertising, blockbuster movies, and television shows.

It is highly probable that if you were born in North America, you have strived for these things because you were told things like, “Get a good education, so you can get a good job. There is no money in the arts, don’t be a dancer, painter, etc.” Or, “You need to settle down, buy a house, and have a couple of kids.”

Stay tuned