It's often said that, in life, the journey is just as important as the destination. In fact, some such as Booker T. Washington have said that '...success is to be measured not so much by the position one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he as overcome while trying to succeed.'
There is certainly merit to the idea that earning a prize throught determination and hardwork is ultimately more rewarding than having the same prize handed to you by birthright or dumb luck. But the question we've been asked to consider is whether struggle is more important than accomplishment as measure of success, and my answer is an unequivocal 'no.'
Success, by definition, equals accomplishment, and as such can only be measured in terms of what one achieves. When it comes to measuring success, the path one takes to arrive at that destination is, ultimately, meaningless.
Some, such as Kipling, have gone so far as to argue that 'victory' belongs to those who have simply tried - those 'in the arena' - but such a notion, while comforting, is nonsense.
If Britain and its allies failed to subdue Hitler in World War II, was there 'victory' to be found in having struggled to do so? The people of Europe who would have been enslaved - and the millions of Jews exterminated by the Nazis - would have found little solace in such a victory.
What of our own American Revolution? If our rebellious colonies had been defeated by Great Britain, what 'victory', what success could we have claimed?
And what about Washington himself? Surely he overcame obstacles, and for that we are grateful. But had he struggled mightly against racism, class, and economic circumstance, yet still failed to achieve the status he did in the world, would we bother to read his words today, or even know who he was?
The answer, I believe, is obvious.
