Life Is What You Make It.: By Peter Buffett

How does one define success?

Grads should base success on substance, not sums

This month, thousands of young, bright, ambitious students will hear words of wisdom from politicians, economists and celebrities. No doubt some commencement speakers will reflect on the uncertain times in which we live and the importance of solid values in a world that too often honors the payoff more than the process. So I would like to focus on a question that graduates may be asking themselves. How does one define success?

By Peter Buffett

You may think that question is pretty ironic coming from the son of one of the richest people in the world. But, actually, it might just make me an expert on the subject. You see, my dad, Warren Buffett, is the poster person for the question. He has all the money anyone could ever want. 

But buying more objects wouldn't make him happier than he is already — doing what he loves. If success is defined by material possessions or one's bank statement, success then is fleeting.

Personal passions

But if success is measured in personal accomplishments — Are you living up to your unique potential? Is there passion and originality in your life and work? Is there fundamental value in what you're trying to achieve? — it can never be taken away. In short, success should be defined by the substance of what you're doing. To paraphrase my father, "Do you tap dance to work?"

And if one is fortunate enough to achieve substantial financial success, how much is enough? What are today's Wall Street titans and CEOs spending their bonus money on and, more important, why are they spending it the way they do? Their need to line their pockets speaks to the larger issues of personal responsibility, moral bankruptcy and the need to fill some bottomless hole in their personal psyches.

Martin Luther King Jr. was right when he said, "America has been a schizophrenic personality." This country was largely built on dominating and exploiting, so it is no wonder that this behavior is now in the fabric of our banks and corporations.

Listen to inner voice

I hope the message students hear this year is attuned to their own inner voice. It's the voice that tells us the world is made up of relationships, which, if nurtured and respected, leave everyone better off.

My parents instilled in me the belief that I could be anything, but not that I could do anything I pleased. 

They showed me that I lived in an interconnected world in which everyone has something to teach everyone else and that my actions mattered because they had an impact, often in ways I might not see or understand. By listening to the voices of others, I would learn more about myself.

We are indeed living in times in which too many people have erroneously decided that their only interest is financial gain and material accumulation, and that it is acceptable to leave nothing of social value in their wake.

Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, "You can't solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it. You must learn to see the world anew." All graduates have the ability to see the world anew, to place their best values at the forefront of their lives and create a more just and equitable world in which success is measured by what we create for each other.

This generation has the opportunity to create families and build communities that are founded on real trust and can support business leaders and politicians who look them in the eye and say, "We are here because of you, so we will honor your needs and protect what you hold most dear. And, most important, we will make sure future generations are left with a better world." That is success. And that is enough.

Peter Buffett, a composer, is author of Life Is What You Make It.

I was pleased to receive this piece of great  thinking that adds value to your perceptions about success, achievements and accomplishments in life. 

My Book: Change Your Mindset, 

Because Success requires a different Approach

My book you see below  is to be released this week and coincidentally talks about the same thread of life. How success needs to be viewed  by you and me and how you can create your own success and happiness in this world. 

Life is entirely your own take and own creation. How you think how you should make it. And my book talks about why we all need Re-Structuring of our Mindsets for seeing our own world with different perspective rather than looking at it through others eyes.

This book on Take control of your own life will be released this week and if you share your views here in the comments column, It would add value too for improving the quality of life.


Please feel free to express your interest here. 


Ajay Angre
Founder, Author, Writer, Creative Director