Menachem Bluming contemplates on being “a success”
In our world of overturned values, a man said to be
successful because he has made a lot of money. He may have left his third wife,
be estranged from his children, have no friends. But he's made a lot of money,
and society says, "I wish I had his good luck."
We obtain true success when we succeed in our
relationships. If you are a selfless friend in times of need, if you act
towards your parents correctly, if you are a supportive and understanding
spouse, a devoted and caring parent, then you are a success. Those who give of
themselves to the community, not just money but time and effort, those who have
developed happy relationships with G-d and man, there lies real success.
In as long as we identify our worth with our
profession - I am an actor, a sales person, an IT technician - then we are restricting
our success as a person on our career success. But it's not true. We are not
restricted to our job description. What we do to make a living is different to
what we do to make a life. We work to make a living. But to make a life we must
love, bond, serve a purpose and find meaning.
This is Shabbos. For 24 hours a week we step out of
our daily roles and return to our true self. We are not staff members but
rather part of a community; we are not employers or employees but rather friends,
children and parents. We are not working for a boss to do our job requirements,
but rather working for The Boss to fulfill our mission.
You may be great at what you do. Or maybe not. But
it's more important to be great at being human. When dealing with being a human,
even a failed businessman can be the greatest success story and a struggling
actor can be the biggest star.