Successful People Portrayed as Good People? (This gets personal)

I don't know how to pick a good title.
I read various articles about how successful people have similar habits, such as exercising, contributing to society, mediate and work on compassion.
Habits of highly successful people - Business Insider

I've been discouraged success because of a discouraging father, which I feel has negatively affected my ability to bond with peers and be successfully productive in my life.
My family has an attitude of "just because he seems to be doing great doesn't mean it's truly so", or "just because he seems nice doesn't mean he's really so".
Another confession, I can't see successful people as good people, and I see the practice of meditation and compassion as conflicting with their successful position, which of course means more money.
All those readings I do over the net seem to show successful people are also better people in the "human being" sense.

This idealization of successful people makes me feel pity. Because if they have bad sides, at least I'd feel more comfortable knowing "I'm not like that".

But I always remember how successful I've always wanted to be, but my father's abusive attitude has left me in fearful scars which I started to strongly and deeply feel after I wrote this thread. Even my mother doesn't encourage success, but to just go through the "requirements of life" (school, university, job, family) with the rest not being important.

I don't know what is the topic. On one hand it would be my skeptical feelings about successful people being very good people as portrayed in article. On the other hand, the scars I just started to feel much strongly regarding my father.

Well, you need to evaluate the audience of the article. It's from the Business Insider and they're referring to business success.

We can be very successful in many areas of our life that have nothing to do with work.

I'm so proud to be a mother of my kids and the attributes that would go with that have nothing to do with how I perform at work.

If we're talking business success than those who are truly successful (as in those who's net worth is over 100 million) are far from the good decent people that you think. I'm not saying that all of them are pure evil, however, I'm also saying that it is impossible to make that kind of money without screwing somebody over at least once in your career. Even the ones who claim to do good deeds like donate millions to charity or practice compassion or whatever B.S they spew are only claiming these things to make themselves look good or to get huge tax right offs in the case of charity.

If you put a high value into being a good person, than don't be discouraged. Nobody becomes financially successful without some kind of dirt on their hands.

There are different kinds of success. Which is the one you want to reach? Being a good person? Financial success?

I read the article. There are some good tips that anyone could use...business wise and other. Thanks for sharing. I don't think all successful people are bad just like I think there are so many different people across a spectrum that you could label a success that might not fit the business mold. Best wishes.

Those are pretty much common sense and good habits for all people to follow, not just successful in making tons on money.

Success is not an absolute concept, it's very relative. By success do you mean wealth? Or achievement or accomplishments?

Quoting from point 10 of the article>>That means that they're organized, responsible, and hardworking, and are able to control their impulses.

Research has found*that conscientiousness is the only major personality trait that consistently predicts success, in terms of factors like income and job satisfaction. That's partly because conscientious people are better at setting and achieving goals, especially in the face of obstacles.<<end quote

This piece stood out to me, while reading the article. I can appreciate on some small level what they[your parents] may be trying to point out. And I fully appreciate and hear what you mean about the effect it is having on you, since without more in depth discussion, it's limiting.

It's not uncommon, especially after struggling on whatever level, to raise kids, to look back and see/believe that this is as good as it gets and there's no point in looking at some big dream.

But aside from setting a goal to be another Oprah, this list does seem like a wonderful tip sheet for being a more effective you, in and out of the workplace. So much is out there, these days about work/life balance and this actually touches upon that.

One thing that I'm sadly seeing more and more is working to the bone towards retirement, to never enjoy what was built towards.

You might want to start browsing through some biographies of people widely considered to be successful. That happens to be a favorite form of reading of mine. What I've concluded is that everybody screws up.

Albert Einstein certainly had his share of success. But check out his performance as a father to his three children. It's not too impressive.

Thanks for your replies.
My success path is unclear yet, but my main goal right now is to bring out my potential and energies as my father naturally attempts to destroy as it seems to me.
I wonder, if I had senses of successful people being evil because they are that way, or because my father disfavors them.

As someone pointed out, this article is from Business Weekly. Most likely their definition of "success" means financial success. I got this definition of "success" from Dictionary.com

Personally, my definition is more in keeping with the first definition - accomplishing goals. If you use money as a measure of success I would probably fall short. I make enough money to support myself and put away a bit toward retirement. I'm by no one's definition wealthy. BUT I feel like a success. I have a job that I am good at and gives me personal satisfaction. I have good friends who are there for me. I live in a place I love. All that adds up to success in my book.

To the OP, could it be that your parents' comments

Quote:

My family has an attitude of "just because he seems to be doing great doesn't mean it's truly so", or "just because he seems nice doesn't mean he's really so".

are a way of saying that just because people look one way does not mean that's what they are. I believe we've all met at least one person in life who was sugar sweet to someone's face and would happily shove a knife in their back. I also don't believe we can paint all people of any group as all being the same. Yeah, there are wealthy folks who are back stabbing sonsaguns. There are folks with no money who are the same.

To the OP, what is your personal definition of success?

Of course there are successful people who are evil. Not all successful people are evil. It depends on what a person was willing to do to be successful. A "Faustian" agreement is one wherein a person sells his soul to the devil, in exchange for the promise of great success. Not every ambitious person got there by making such a deal.

You seem to have a plan for your future where, if you succeed, you'll take the credit . . . but if you fail, you'll blame your father. That's not a good start.