The Blogger SAT Challenge

I think it is true that success is better measured by the obstacles one has overcome, rather than the position one has reached in life. Ernest Hemingway, in his classic work, 'The Old Man and the Sea,' explored just this theme. His protagonist, Santiago, was a fisherman. Santiago caught a big fish, which was then eaten by sharks before he returned to shore. However, he was not defeated. He had persevered despite many obstacles, including physical pain, lack of proper equipment and dangers. He proved his 'mettle' by surviving these obstacles, and in the process, according to Hemingway, demonstraed the meaning of character.

I believe Churchill also remarked something to the effect that greatness is not defined by one's successes, but by one's capacity to continue after failures. Again it is the qualities of character that constitute perseverance-the willingness to struggle against the odds-which in the end define success.

Camus also explored this theme in his novel 'The Plague.' Although it has been decades since I read 'The Plague' I recall that it's theme was that heroism-akin to a kind of 'success'-is measured by one's willingness to put one foot in front of the other in the face of adversity. This theme is appealing as well in its egalitarian application. Each of us has the potential to succeed by overcoming obstacles.

On the other side, reaching elevated positions in life is often an accident of birth. We need look no further than our current President, George W. Bush, for a demonstration of that proposition. One could even say that the absence of any necessity for struggle in his life is the cause of his lack of success (see, for example, Iraq, Katrina, among others).

In my own life I often derive strength from looking back at times when I struggled and succeeded. My daughter was born prematurely, at a time when her older brother was still a baby. I am (and was) self-employed running my own business. I didn't sleep for weeks. I was constantly worried and anxious. But every day was a matter of putting one foot in front of the other (even though one day, I recall, I appeared in a public setting in connection with my job with two mismatched shoes!). I am more proud of myself, for having gotten through that without a mental breakdown, then perhaps any other 'success' in my life.

To the same effect, when I was 21 years old I went to Europe by myself, with a backpack and a Eurorail pass. The fact that I was able to meet all the various challenges of the journey changed me. I returned home a different person.

I don't think there is any doubt that it is the experience, the struggle, not the result, which is the best measure of one's character. And character, in the end, is what success is all about. It is not our material possessions nor our elevated positions which define us, but (to borrow a phrase from Martin Luther King) the content of our characters.

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