✒️:. Himayun Hilal
In today’s world, success is often measured by the size of one’s bank balance, the worth of their property, the status of their job, and the luxury of their lifestyle. From a young age, we are taught that if a person owns vast lands, runs a profitable business, or earns a handsome salary, then he is a successful man. If someone drives expensive cars, travels the world, and wears designer clothes, we label him the winner of life.
But I ask you — is that really success? Or is it merely a shadow of excellence, a product of resources and status, rather than peace of the soul?
Success has been misunderstood. A man may be surrounded by wealth, yet lie awake at night burdened by regrets. He may own ten cars but feel no joy in driving them. He may live in a mansion, yet his heart may be a prison of sorrow. He may have hundreds working under him, but feel completely alone inside. Is that success?
Let us look deeper. A person may inherit ancestral property, or build financial empires through hard work, but if he wakes up every morning with a hollow heart — without purpose or inner peace — then all that wealth is like gold coins on a sinking ship: shiny, but useless.
Real success, I believe, is not found in the digits of your bank account, but in the absence of regret. The fewer regrets you carry, the more successful you truly are.
If you walk through life with contentment, honesty, and no shame in your reflection — then you are already rich beyond measure.
You may not have riches, but if you have peace in your heart, you are successful. You may not have a job in a tall corporate building, but if you sleep each night with satisfaction in your soul and dreams in your eyes, you are successful. You may not own land, but if your heart is a garden of kindness and courage, then you are the king of the world.
I once knew a man who owned nothing — no land, no business, no title — yet he walked like a mountain: proud and calm. He never harmed anyone, never cheated, never bowed to pressure. He lived in a small house, but his soul had the vastness of an ocean. That man was successful. Not in the eyes of society, but in the eyes of life.
On the other hand, I saw a man who had five houses and three companies. He wore suits and gave speeches. But inside, he was breaking. He had betrayed friends, lied to reach the top, and sacrificed love for profit. That man had everything — and nothing at all.
Let this be clear:
Success is not appearance.
Success is not applause.
Success is not gold.
Success is the absence of regret.
When you sit alone in silence and smile at the choices you made — that is success.
When your past does not haunt you, and your future does not scare you — that is success.
When you can forgive others, and even more importantly, forgive yourself — that is success.
So I say to you:
Do not compare your journey with someone else’s riches. Do not believe you are nothing just because you have no fancy job, no car, no house. You are not poor if your soul is rich. You are not unsuccessful if your heart is strong.
Live a life that brings peace, not pressure.
Live a life that builds people, not just buildings.
Live a life that plants love, not just profits.
And if you reach the end of your life with peace in your eyes and love in your heart — then you have truly succeeded.
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