When most people think of happiness and being successful they think of owning big houses, fast cars, expensive designer clothes and how big of a bank balance you have, however, how successful and happy you are does not necessarily depend on the material things you have in life.

If you are happy in life with what you have got regardless of the material possessions that you own or don't own, then you are a very wealthy and successful person indeed. It is very often the smallest things in life which are priceless but are not of any great value other than the particular person who cherishes them for one reason or another, these can be photographs, cards, a song or even memories can be precious to an individual.

In a society where we have been brought up believing material possessions are what is important it can be hard to believe that owning material possessions isn't what makes us happy and brings success, how common it is to hear someone say "if only I had this or that, I would be the happiest person on earth", however should we get what it is we wish for we are never satisfied and only begin to dream and wish we had something better. The newness of having a material possession soon wears off, and this pattern is continued throughout life in the majority of people. This is perhaps easier to realize if you think back to when you were a child, your parents would spend hundreds of dollars on birthdays and Christmas presents because you had to have that "special" toy, but how quickly they were discarded when something new came onto the scene.

The same applies to wealth, it doesn't matter how much money you had, would you really think that you had enough? Would having a bank account with thousands of dollars make such a difference to your life, would it bring you anymore happiness or success than you have now?

We all want to live a comfortable life, without struggling each month to pay bills, that's only natural, but apart from that money doesn't bring true happiness and success, you can have thousands in the bank but if you're alone in life, without real friends and family, without love, then you can never find true happiness and success.

What is success and happiness?

In order to determine actually what success and happiness means you should first ask yourself this

* What is the meaning of success and happiness?

* What would being truly successful and happy mean?

* What do I want out of life?

These are the core questions behind understanding what happiness and success really would mean to you as an individual, for happiness and success means different things to each of us. You can be rich and successful in many more ways than having material possessions and money, think about some of the things you have in your life now, are you one of the richest and most successful people on the earth?

* True friends - if you can count on one hand five true friends who are always there for you through thick and thin then your are rich indeed

* Health - if you have good health through taking care of what you eat, exercising regularly then this is far more valuable than any amount of money in the bank

* A family - if you have a family around you who loves you then you will have a successful, rewarding and very happy life

* A good character - if you are an honest, kind and truthful person in all situations then you have success beyond your wildest dreams.

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