Essay - What is your idea of success in life?

What is your idea of success in life?

Sample Essay, category: FCE and CAE exams

Ask a thousand people what their idea of successful life is and you will get a thousand different answers. Some think they have to be rich in order to be a success. For others professional realisation is more important than idling around in a luxurious house or spending money on expensive cars and yachts. Yet other people have understood that the support of their family and friends is the thing without which they can fully enjoy neither their wealth nor their job. In my opinion, all these matter because to be a success means to be in harmony with yourself and with the people around.

I think, however, the first priority for having success in life is your relationship with your family and friends. The mere fact that someone cares for you and always stands by you can be considered a success. No one, however rich and educated, can say they have achieved this highest state of human well-being if they have neglected the ones near and dear to them.

Being well- educated, finding and getting the job you like best, putting your heart into it is also of great significance. If you have to do something you either dislike or cannot do, no matter how well- paid you are, you will hardly be happy and satisfied with it. You will probably feel there is something missing and that is the delight and pleasure which favourite activities give us. Doing what we like is one of the things that allow us to consider ourselves achieved the ultimate goal.

Still, there is something else to be added; its importance cannot be underestimated, because having it you can cure most diseases, receive a better education and thus get a better job. And this thing is money. The power it gives, some people say, is the greatest success. However, I cannot agree with this statement. Of course, money helps but it is not the only thing that counts in life.

To sum up, to be a success means not just to have large sums in the bank, not just to get a university diploma or make a career; it is not even just to have a lot of friends. It is a unique combination of all these ingredients. Si, I think, there are hardly people in the world who could say they have achieved it completely.