Do you want to be happy? Of course you do. A popular belief is that success is a sure way to be happy. In fact, most parents follow this guideline. As children we are taught that if we want to be happy we must first be successful. In the stressful world we live in today, happiness is in short supply. For this reason, our parents push us to work hard in order to succeed. Guaranteed happiness seems like a great thing for everyone, but in reality there is no way to achieve it. Although the concept of success and the emotion of happiness share some connection, they do not completely influence each other as many believe. Furthermore, even though success seems simple, it is actually quite complex. Parents, and most people, see success as crossing the finish line; get the scholarship, get a great job, buy a big house. Success is more like a lifelong marathon. You have to keep working to be successful, once you achieve it you have to keep moving forward to maintain success; earning good grades in college, working towards the next promotion, keeping bills under control. As you can see, success is not what it seems; it's not black and white, it doesn't control happiness, and it's not just a goal. Imagine working really hard and getting nowhere. This is not a very unusual feeling. Working hard alone does not make someone successful. Indeed, the road to success is long for most people. For example, many workers spend years and years working hard for a company, but never get a promotion. On the other hand, some workers work for a couple of years and then move up in the company. The difference between the two is not hard work, it's something different. Anyone can master a certain skill, whether it's job-related, ... middle of paper ... go home to a happy family, to the rich man down the street who has no worries. in the world. All this proves that even being considered successful does not bring happiness; and being happy, obviously, doesn't make you successful. Ultimately, the concept of success is complicated. From the outside, success appears to be simple; however, being successful requires more than just hard work. It takes time, effort, and a skill set. Beyond that, success requires maintenance; once you achieve it, you have to work to maintain it. Furthermore, even if the concept of success and the emotion of happiness seem to coincide, in reality they are very far from it. Examples of people who are successful but not happy, happy but not successful, and both happy and successful are all around us. All in all, there is much more to the concept of success than what is shown on the surface.