As this truth came into focus, his spiritual director asked him how he would now define failure. Living out of harmony with one's true self in order to pursue the wrong goals for the wrong reasons. Caring more about other people's opinions than about serving God and doing His will. What this points up is the essential role of integrity in any meaningful account of success. Genuine success cannot bypass the importance of living truthfully with who we are at the level of our deepest values and convictions.
Success is a word which has itself become a glittering image in our culture.
The whole notion has been trivialized by superficial ways of measuring success which ignore what is really important. The notion of success has been largely captured by a market mentality which defines success in terms of possessions and power. And many speakers on success reinforce this superficial image with pep talks which give little attention to the larger meaning and purpose of life. After all, there is only so much room at the top. The key is not to redefine success in such a way that anything counts.