How do you define Success?

How do you define success

     Most people have their own definition of what success means to them.  I took the initiative of asking fifteen different people how they would define success.  I gathered the three most popular answers and they said 1) career 2) person's status in life 3)  material items they have or have not.  

            Success is something a person acquires on how well they lived their life.  The first measurement of success is a person's career.   Their job title will determine the salary.   People connect success with how much a person earns.  The higher the salary the more successful he becomes in his career.  A person's career plays an important part in surviving in society.  In order to survive in today's society, one must have a job to support them self/and or support a family.  Furthermore, an increase in pay rate will give more of an advantage in buying a home, or have insurance (health, auto, home), and provide food for their family.  To get any  assistance from the government is considered and classified as low income families .  You could visualize a person with a good career, plus more income, equals better support for the family.  Society considers the family to be successful.  They are completely independent and " fully sufficient on their own."  Families that are dysfunctional  are usually low income therefore; poor  and receives some type of  government assistant.

         On the same token, people judge others for the things they have and don't have.  It does look like the person is materialistic.   For example; When a person drives a car like a BMW or a Porsche, people will show more respect or treat them better than a person driving a Ford Pinto.  Those people want to improve their status and willing to acquire better cars and bigger houses.  The more expensive a vehicle cost the higher quality and performance it possesses.  "Oh, the Johnson's just bought a new Jaguar XJ12, they must be earning a good income or they must be doing well?" It's very superficial but society will and have been known to "Judge a book by its cover" and attribute it to success.