DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUCCESS AND JOY

Story of a rich man with a Lamborghini

This is a story of a very rich man, who was not feeling well and called his guru to be at his home for an important occasion. When the guru reached his home, the rich man told him that today he has purchased the most expensive gift of his life and it is a brand new red colour, Lamborghini.

The rich man wanted his guru to be the first person to drive with him. After going through a long drive, the rich man stopped at a remote place and start crying! The guru asked the reason why he is crying and especially on such a special occasion when he has purchased the most expensive gift of his life. The rich man replied that although I have purchased the most important gift of my life, there is no one in my family to share my success. Everyone has left him in my process of becoming rich!       

“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.” ― Jim Carrey

Society has its definition of success. Success is a very social concept. As per society, the meaning of success is an accumulation of status, fame, money and power. Success is not about the accumulation of wealth and power, it should be personal, for joy, for satisfaction.

The real truth is that happiness is often subjective and difficult to measure. Success is often judged externally or by comparison to other people.

People have a tendency to confuse the two (success and happiness), mixing them up and can’t distinguish that both are very different but seemingly unified terms.

Joy is a goal that many people aspire to. Most people also have a strong desire to be successful in life and they tend to believe that through this success they will automatically become happier but they continue to struggle.

There are just as many people out there who deem themselves happy, while not necessarily successful, as there are successful people still trying to figure out how to be happy.

• Success is all the money in the world; happiness is having people to spend it on.
• Success is measurable; happiness is limitless.
• Success is working hard; happiness is loving the work.
• Success is being right; happiness is being true.
• Success is earned, and happiness is achieved.
• Success is money; happiness is value.
• Success is pursuing your dreams; happiness is living your dreams.
• Success is reaching the top; happiness has no ceiling.
• Success is envied; happiness is shared.
• Success is perfection; happiness is embracing imperfections.

Does it mean that it is bad to be successful? The answer is no. Considering the above story, a person can be successful, own a red Lamborghini and can still be joyful. But if a person is having pots of money but no mental peace, it is better to have less money but more calmness.

Consider another situation wherein a man, his wife, children and parents are going together to purchase a basic car and are extremely happy at their achievement.

Which one is a better situation? A person alone with his red Lamborghini or a family with a basic car.

But in the beginning, the majority of people do chase success and joy together but somewhere in the process, they miss the happiness and focus only on success.

In the film The Matrix, There is a dialogue that ‘There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.”

Joy is internal, success is a creation of society. Seek joy and success will certainly follow

Joy is usually an attribute of an individual whereas success can be attributed to an individual or to a group.

One may gain political and social independence, but if one is a slave to his passions and desires, one cannot feel the pure joy of real freedom: Swami Vivekananda

The success of this video/blog is watched by many viewers. Joy is in the making/writing of it.