How could one measure the success? Is it even possible to define success objectively?

Tangential to success, there is the trait of bravery which is similar to success in this regard.

Bravery is almost always measured subjectively and seen in constrast with past events. If there was something which you were too coward to do in the past but now have overcome the fear, you are considered brave.

This metric does not allow to compare two different measurements without a common vertex. This definition is ill-defined in case of unseen unknown event, since, in that case, there is no vertex (or past) to compare to.

But this post is not bravery so I am not going to spend any more keyboard strokes on it. Measurement of success can also structured on a similar foundation.

Amount of success is directly proportional to the number of challenges overcome.

Metric of success often suffers from a connotation that it heavily depends on the socitial position, financial well-being, and so on. But, it is the opinion of the author (me) here that it should not be the case.

Side note: This idea does not seem so novel as it did when first conceived. A lot of folklore, stories (manga, and movies) closely knit all their stories with this embroidery.

A strong point of this definition is that it can be applied in parents-children dynamics. Parents must have overcome numerous challenges in their lives. And their expections for their children is to overcome similar extent of challenges if not more challenges. Emphasis on expectations.

So, if you were in your dad’s position when he was your age, would you have become him as he is now?

This definition is very much like the definition of bravery discussed above in that it constrasts with the past. Hence, it also faces a similar region of ill-definition where the measure diverges. That is, when someone gets lucky and overcomes a challenge. Of course, in that case, one could argue that it was not really a challenge and therein comes the subjectivity of the definition of what consistutes a challenge. Also, getting lucky means one is prepared on all fronts. One who does not buy the lottery ticket has NO chance to win the game. A lot of pieces have to be in place for that lady of the luck to do her magic.

This measure is incomplete. The measure of success now solely depends on the measure of number of challenges. If all the challenges belong to a countable set, the requirement of measure falls on such a set. How would one go about measuring challenges?

I guess this is where all the subjectivity lies. And I won’t be going into there tonight.

In the end, I want to ask this question:

Would you like to work hard or work smart for the rest of your life? Of course, any one would choose work smart since it is possible to work efficiently by working smartly.

But, it feels weird. I would choose working hard. Maybe because of my deep seated belief that working hard enough will get anything. Maybe, I think, working smart limits your productivity by how smart you are. Working hard increases your smartness. Or who knows? Maybe I am not smart enough and would like to compensate for that by working hard and hoping I get some results.