Booker T. Washington's statement that success is better measured by struggle than by accomplishment was supported by his life of both struggle and objective accomplishment. But the statement stands well on its own, due to the very definition of success. Success, at its simplest, is about overcoming obstacles, no matter their relative difficulty.
For instance, if one was to determine how successful a given action was, they would calculate the difference between the state of the situation before and after the action was performed. That difference, not the absolute values, is the true measure of the action.
Certainly as the status of a challenge rises, the effort required to overcome it increases as competition and psychological factors become more difficult, and the results can be more easily spread as influence increases. That, however, is no reason to hold such a success in higher regard than a similar effort at a lower status level.
Success, in the end, is subjective and very personal. It is to be expected that those most able to spread their opinions are the people at the highest positions in life, and that the belief they spread will be that success at high levels is more important than success at low levels. The truth about success, however, is that it cares not for rank and title, but only for effort and real situational change.
