An Elusive Invitation

So there’s this problem. A person–you, me, the guy selling the ice creams from a truck–shoots for the brash and somewhat narcissistic King commonly known as success. Then, all too suddenly, they get there. They win X-Factor, make it lucky with the lotto, score big with a viral video, become a social-network superstar or a successor to the Late Greats like Elvis or the Beatles or Billy Elliot. They’ve hit that all-too-elusive success model which has been ingrained deep into the psyche of people within the Western Culture and even certain other cultures.

Most all of these success stories will someday end up as features on the glossy sheets of a magazine, touting their rags-to-riches story for the world over to lust lovingly at their fame and beauty, all the while wishing they were the ones being documented.

But here’s the thing. One day that magazine will be old. One day the pages will get ripped out, scrunched up and used to wipe the smears off hotel windows. Or perhaps that glossy parchment will fare a little better and be stored under some books at the bottom of a bookshelf. Or maybe it’ll end up as a fire-starter in a regular old fire in a regular old house of a regular old lady.

So, now we come to this awkward conclusion: Success doesn’t matter. It’s irrelevant. Hyped up, media-biased, irrelevancy. These people–with their great deeds, songs, works of art, speeches and flash houses–will eventually be superseded. Someone will outshine them. Something will coerce the guy with the spotlight to shine it elsewhere. Someday it’ll all end. And when it does . . . that’s when there still needs to be something left. We all want to succeed at what we do. It’s natural to want to live the best life you can. But success gains you nothing. Nothing of importance, that is.

It’s easy to wish away the moments right here, right now, in favour of the intangible future wafting somewhere overhead in la-la land. That thing that seems so close you can almost taste it, yet it’s not quite here. It can feel like you’re on the verge of something exciting–constantly in *transition* into something new and more desirable. Forget about that. Dream, yes, of course. Always dream. But tell a story that holds meaning now. Not tomorrow once you succeed, because remember, success is ultimately irrelevant. Nobody cares about the rich guy with the notorious lack of character. His story is lousy. And nobody remembers the guy who stole from others to gain monetary success. This guy didn’t sacrifice anything for others or go without so that someone might be fed or give anything away. For him, it was all about taking.

True success comes down to two simple things: 1. There’s no better time to live than today, and 2., there’s no better person to live for than someone other than yourself.