On Success and Happiness

This week’s book learning is from ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ by Viktor E Frankl.

I’ve been listening to Viktor Frankl’s incredible book this week and the moment I heard the following paragraph, I bookmarked it to share. As a funny coincidence, another learning service I subscribed to shared the same paragraph. I took it as a sign. Here it goes..

“Again and again, I therefore admonish my students in Europe and America: Don’t aim at success – the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue.

And it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run, in the long-run, I say(!), success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it.”

Success must ensue.. – Image by Dan Taylor

Reading Frankl’s book and experiences as a survivor of a concentration camp have been an experience in itself. The depth of insight in the book is unparalleled. If you haven’t read it, I sincerely hope you do..

Here’s to listening to our conscience and doing our best, this week!