Matthew Gordon

Professor Thomas
UWRT 1102
April 18, 2016
I feel that I have done really well on my thesis but I do not believe it is
perfect. I feel that it deserves around a 90 plus or minus about 4 points, because
I've put a lot of effort, time, and research into this paper trying to make it. It was
difficult to write in an argumentative tone because I couldn't find other
argumentative tones to go against. I feel that I had relatively good sources for my
topic but I know that it's not perfect.
Reflection
As I was finishing my thesis I was running out of material to write from my
annotated bibs and had to do a little bit more side research. I searched for stuff to
add from even more sources but it hard for me to find new material and make it
seem non-repetitive because in a simple manner it was relatively all the same. I
incorporated the research I had about success and how much of a factor your
childhood has on your success. For argument sake I could not find sources that
argued against these things because that would be like arguing that failure is best
which is rare, especially from scholarly writings. I only found pieces that talked
about ways to be successful, not of the "which is better, societal or individual," even
though that was the main part of my topic.
I remember one time my dad was picking me up from high school and I
showed him a quiz I got back from math class with a 98, and he said "that's good"
with no sense of positivity. I remember asking him if he was glad and he responded
with "well it's not a 100%" and that crushed all of the spirit I had for the rest of that

day. This led me into the formation of my question because I know a lot of other
people who were in the same situation as I was. Their parents were hard to please,
so they never had the confidence needed to do things even though I saw their
potential to be successful. One of my friends from high school always got 'A's on all
of his tests, he never studied or did homework so he got low grades. He had so
much potential, but he didn't use any of it because he always wanted to play and
have fun instead. That is why I chose my question "Is personal success better than
societal success?"
The ongoing conversation about success is very broad because there are
many aspects that can determine success such as fame, respect, and sometimes
wealth. Although, most of society only cares about societal success instead of
personal success because they look for fame and wealth. Who gets determine
whether or not you are successful or not? Only you get to determine if you have
been successful or not because others' opinions shouldn't matter when it's your life.
Dr. Koustab Ghosh, who has a Ph.D. from the Vinod Gupta School of Management
and an MBA from Bengal Engineering and Science University, refers to success as a
comparison to circumstances in a similar class. Dr. Joanna Higgins, who has a PhD
from SUNY-Binghamton and is the author of many other well-known books such as A
Soldiers Book, Dead Center, and The Importance of High Places, defines success
as process as well as result. Journey as well as arrival. For without the journey, there
can be no arrival. No success story. I think both of these are very accurate in their
own way.
However, I feel that most people in society, referring to Ghosh's definition,
have a hard time differentiating between the different classes. When I think of these
distinct classes, I see the separate sections of society, like how much should a
specific thing be related to a certain part of society. This means that some people

confuse societal success and personal success because they feel that if they have
not achieved societal success instantly then they are failures. Many successful
people can say that success requires multiple failures so that we may learn from our
mistakes.
Another reason that a lot of people don't succeed is lack of self-confidence or
motivation. I have a personal example of this: growing up I always made good
grades, but not phenomenal grades and my dad never seemed happy for me even
though I felt successful. I feel that this crushed the motivation I had for doing well in
school and trying my hardest, while reverting my attention into video games and
online play. I started this because I could feel successful and my dad didn't have
much experience with this sort of stuff, so if he made an opinion I would see it as
unimportant. I feel that if my dad had been more encouraging and seemed more
impressed it would have given me more motivation for doing things. My opinion is
that personal success is better because it gives motivation and a sense of
accomplishment which can drive a person to reaching their full potential over time.
Referring back to my example, I felt personal success but I was not sure what
to do with it because I was young and my parents were my role models like most
kids. Because my dad was not impressed I was then not impressed and I feel that
has caused a lack of motivation for me even today, don't let this happen to you. If
you tried your hardest and you feel that you did well, don't let anyone else tell you
otherwise. At the beginning I said how other people see success and how they
define it but what about me? How do I define success? I define success as an
achievement that is outstanding enough for positive recognition. In this case the
positive recognition could come from anyone, including yourself.
Now that I have defined success and given a good personal experience I
would like to expand and explain my question even more. Personal success to me is
something that only you or a small group of people may find successful. Societal

success to me is something that most people in the world would find successful, and
there are many different places in between. Merriam-Webster simply defines
success in two ways. One of these definitions is, "The correct or desired result of an
attempt," and this relates directly to personal success. If you want a certain result
and achieve that result when the attempt is made, then that could be success. Even
though society doesn't see it as a contribution in your mind you succeeded, so why
not call that personal success.
Another definition for success from Merriam-Webster is, "the fact of getting or
achieving wealth, success, or fame," and this directly relates to societal success.
However, what can we call societal success if there is no solid ground on which a
society is defined? I see a society as a group of people who are working on
achieving the same goal. There are many different societies and global societies.
Ghosh makes a good example of the in between by ensuring "a businessman would
be successful if he gets a lot of promotions and becomes CEO, while a soccer player
would be successful if he goes to the professional level." Both of these professions
make a lot of money, which is a driving factor for society, and were successful.
However, some people can see them as successful in their separate communities so
the whole world might not see the other successful. This does not mean they
weren't successful, but that does not mean it is only personal success either.
It is clear through history that most successful people grew up being
successful or knew how to be successful in life since they were a child. Joan
Goodman received a B.A. (Social Anthropology) from Radcliffe College in 1956, an
M.Ed. (Certificate of Advanced Studies) from the Harvard School of Education in
1960, and an Ed.D. (Counseling and Guidance) from the Harvard School of
Education in 1963. She brought attention to a point that educators are concerned
about with the present reform era, student voice. At first educators believed that

education is most effective when students are engaged in their learning. I feel that
this is true because when I was in high school I always felt that teachers who were
trying to engage me were able to teach me better. Their engagement increases
when they are given responsibilities and leadership positions. Inner-City students
are more likely to attend schools where authority is hoarded. In this case, the threat
of poor test outcomes and consequent penalties can be discouraging for students.
Most student disengagement is demonstrated by antagonism or passivity. This is a
common psychological barrier that holds people back because they feel as if they
won't be able to rebound back from it and in the lower class areas those students
can just revert to drugs and gang life.
Connie Martin majored in English and minored in drama at SMSU. She
published Quest for EloshidiI through Granite Publishers as well as The Traveler.
There are many barriers that educators talk about, however the psychological
barrier is not one of them. This is a major area of concern for most students
because psychological factors influence how well those students can respond to
other barriers they might face. Educators generally concentrate on addressing
barriers that they believe will influence students the most however they don't think
of the psychological barrier. Psychological factors such as self-esteem and focus are
intangible, but strongly influence how adults view their ability to succeed in
education. Educators generally don't cover this because they might feel as if it is
out of their control especially when dealing with adults that have never enrolled in
an education program before. Another huge area that is studied when considering
success is motivation. Without motivation there is no drive to achieve something so
if might lead to failure.
Dr. Richard Dobbins, who attained a B.A. in Psychology, an M.A. in
Psychology, Ph.D. in Guidance and Counseling and a clinical license with the Ohio

Board of Psychology, says the lack of confidence or motivation can also be seen as
a psychological barrier that some people don't know exists because people may not
possess certain skills or knowledge which is not always true. Dobbins performed a
study and found that 15% of the success encountered will occur because of
knowledge and skills while the other 85% is attitude. Enjoying something is the best
way to get involved with it because adopting a positive mental attitude will
dramatically and quickly increase your success rate. He explains the law of control
which means that if a person has 100% responsibility in their life than that person
can feel 100% in control of their life. For people, breaking this first barrier is found
most important by educators because it can show how well they can face other
barriers in the future.
After breaking the first barrier and becoming self-confident what should we
do from there in order to be successful? According to the Films Media Group there
are seven key points to know and excel at in order to be successful. The first key
point is innovation which is the ability to create new products or improve on current
products in order to make your customers happy, bringing in more business. The
second key point is having a good plan, which is self-explanatory, you need to know
what you want to do and how you are going to do it. Your end goal of this plan
should be leading to what you believe is successful. The third point is finding and
creating connections. With good connections to employers and other businesses it
will allow you more opportunities than others, giving a higher chance to be
successful.
The fourth important thing to do is eliminate all weaknesses and build on
your strengths. This will give you more diversity to work with making you seem
more desirable by employers giving you a better reputation. The fifth important
thing to use is caution, because one bad decision can really screw things up for a

while. Always take your time when thinking about important life decisions because
it could make you or break you. The sixth important thing to do is to constantly
update your skills and knowledge. This will help you keep your place in the
marketplace because technology is always changing/improving to this ability will
allow to keep connections. The last thing and the most important thing to do is to
stay positive and work hard. Staying positive will brush off on people improving
what they think of you. This is good for making connections and being successful in
general. This is also shown by Dr. Dobbin's study that showed 85% of the success
achieved is because of a positive attitude.
With all of this being said I feel that personal success is more important
because that can lead to self-confidence which can cause a person to thrive in some
environments. Breaking the psychological barrier and believing in yourself is the key
thing to learn here. Societal success is always fantastic but reaching that may be a
struggle. A positive attitude and healthy mindset can help a person be successful
even if they don't have the right knowledge or skills. Small goals that lead to big
goals, planning, is also helpful. Stop worrying about if you try something and it
doesn't go according to plan, have a good attitude about it and you have a better
chance at succeeding. Don't let society tell you that the great things you have done
aren't because as long as you believe in yourself, a whole world of opportunities
await you.

Works Cited
Dobbins, Richard, and Barrie O. Pettman. "The Psychology of Success. Equal
Opportunities international 11.1 (n.d.): n. page. CrossRef. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
Films for the Humanities & Sciences. "Login to Atkins Library - J. Murrey Atkins
Library - UNC Charlotte." Login to Atkins Library - J. Murrey Atkins Library - UNC
Charlotte. Films Media Group, 2004. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
Goodman, Joan F., and Nimet Suheyla Eren. "Student Agency: Success, Failure, and
Lessons Learned." Ethics and Education 8.2 (2013): 123-39.ERIC. Web. 29 Mar.
2016.

Goto, Stanford T., and Connie Martin. "Psychology of Success: Overcoming Barriers
to Pursuing Further Education." The Journal of Continuing Higher Education 57.1
(2009): 10-21. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
Ghosh, Koustab. "Prioritization of individual Success indicators for Managerial
Success." international Journal of Organizational Analysis 21.3 (2013): 260-87.
Emerald Publishing Group Limited. Web. 12 Mar. 2016.
Higgins, Joanna. "What is Success?" Kalmbach Publishing Co. 107.4 (1994): 7.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.