The Failures of Modern Success Have you ever wondered what it would be like to watch a person’s life go by in just minutes? Michael Apted did, and in 1964 he began what has today become one of the most famous longitudinal studies in the world. Dubbed “7 up”, this study follows a group of individuals from the time they are seven, to their deaths, recording in-depth interviews with the participants every few years. Each interview offers a view into the participants emotions, successes, and dreams. When watching these films, one cannot help but experience a rarely felt sensation: amazement. How many times have you had the opportunity to look in-depth at another's life, seeing them grow old before your eyes? How many times have you had the opportunity…show more content… At the core of this study lies Nicholas Hitchon. Hitchon stands out among other participants, he attended Oxford university, and was proclaimed the “great success” of the participating group by the study’s directors. While Hitchon has good reason to feel proud of himself, when asked about his apparent success, he responded in a rather unpredictable way. In the interview Hitchon denies his success, and states, “What have I achieved?”, “I’m not really prepared to accept that I’ve done anything very special yet.” Why does Hitchon feel this way? Clearly he has done well for himself. He has accomplished his childhood goals of studying physics, and has even been accepted into Oxford University. Since the directors of the Up Series found it so obvious that Nick was a success, Nick’s response siding to the contrary offers proof that success does not exist as a clear-cut topic, but instead resides as an abstract quality that exists in many forms. In other words, success to one man, is not success to another. Nonetheless, before different forms of success can be discussed, the root meaning of success must be totally comprehended. Afterwards, the vast richness of success can be evaluated, and segmented into…show more content… Imagine a man who has more money than they could ever spend, a billionaire. Undeniably, many would consider this man a success. Yet, what has he succeeded at that allows him to become a success? When people call this man a success, they are alluding to his vast amount of wealth. To his onlookers, this man has completed the task of monetary gain. To his onlookers, this man has achieved success. Now, imagine a man, let’s call him Alex. Alex owns no yachts, and hardly possesses more money than what he needs to survive; however, he has just completed his lifelong goal of collecting every action figure from the movie Space Cowboys. In the eyes of many, this man is not a success. Regardless of outside opinions, based on the root meaning of success, both these men have achieved success. The billionaire has completed his goal of collecting huge sums of money, and Alex has achieved his goal of collecting action figures. Just as seen in the Up films, success differs from person to person, and from these kind of scenarios different forms of success
