Success!

Success measures the achievement of sustainable happiness and fulfillment attained by an individual meeting their personal goals and improving their life.  Many modern movies aim to maximize profits by entertaining viewers with light-hearted comedy or action. Although these films provide an enjoyable experience for their audiences, they often fail to leave lasting impressions. Fortunately, not all filmmakers take this approach.

Some modern films cover thought provoking topics in an attempt to encourage intelligent discussion among their viewers and improve the world. Two such films,​ The Social Network​ and Icarus​, accomplish this goal incredibly well. Both films bring the discussion of their topic beyond the context of their work and meaningfully impact the world.

(Picture from IMDb)

The Social Network​ follows Mark Zuckerberg as he creates Facebook. The film frequently cuts between the early days of Facebook and lawsuits that Mark faces from his former friends and acquaintances. In the end, the value of Facebook soars, making Mark the world’s youngest millionaire. However, in order to gain this wealth, Mark betrays his best friend Eduardo by forcing him out of Facebook (which they cofound at the beginning of the movie). The contrast between Mark’s financial success and his social failure calls into question the value of money to success. The film indirectly argues that although wealth seems to indicate success, happiness provides a much more accurate indicator.

Although it may not touch on subjects such as wealth or happiness directly, ​Icarus​ addresses similarly meaningful topics.

When the filmmakers originally started filming ​Icarus​, they intended to document the process through which an athlete could defeat a doping test. However, as they become friends with Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov (the director of Russia’s anti-doping laboratory), he reveals to them that the majority of Russian athletes use performance enhancing drugs as part of a state sponsored program. Later, reports of this doping program reach the media, so Rodchenkov flees to the United States. He then decides to leak his knowledge of the doping program to the ​New York Times​ and the U.S. government.

The records that he provides ultimately allow the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Olympic Committee to prove that Russia orchestrated a doping program for its Olympic athletes in the 2014 Sochi Olympics. By showing the ubiquity of doping, ​Icarus indirectly questions whether or not society should excuse athletes who use performance enhancing drugs. It argues that athletes who use these drugs still set challenging goals, put in tremendous work, and achieve a sense of fulfillment.

Both films go above and beyond the achievements of most movies, I personally prefer Icarus​ to ​The Social Network​. Although ​The Social Network ​provides a fascinating account of the creation of Facebook, as well as valid questions about morality, its real world impact pales in comparison to that of ​Icarus​. The filming of ​Icarus​ not only revealed to the general public the widespread corruption in the Russian government, but also provided the information necessary for the International Olympic Committee to take action.

(Picture from IMDb)

Interview with Greta Insolia Greta Insolia currently works as an aid for special needs students in Chagrin Falls High School and Chagrin Falls Middle School. She also teaches Bikram yoga, tutors students for the ACT and SAT, works as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children. In addition to these jobs, she acts as a role model for her three children. The following interview with Mrs. Insolia discusses her opinions on the topics of wealth, happiness, and overall success.

1. Do you enjoy your current job? If not, have you enjoyed any of your past jobs?

“Yes, I’ve enjoyed most of my jobs. Even the ones I didn’t like, I got something out of.

When I was younger, I had to work in a lawyer’s office. I didn’t like working in an office, but I got knowledge of what I didn’t want to do” (Insolia).

2. Out of all of the jobs you have had, which one did you enjoy the most?

“Working at Borders book store in Chicago. I liked suggesting books to people, and really enjoyed helping them find a good book. Also, I liked working at the University of Memphis, and enjoyed talking about big ideas with students” (Insolia).

3. Do you prefer an easier job to a more challenging job?

“I like to get up in the morning and be excited about going to work, and if it’s too easy, it’s boring. I also like to feel like I’m helping someone and making a real difference. I’ve never felt interested in having a job that makes a lot of money” (Insolia).

4. To what extent do you value wealth?

“I like to have a job that pays me enough to live an average life. That’s about all I want in terms of money” (Insolia).

5. Has wealth helped you achieve happiness or a sense of fulfillment in life?

“No. I’ve never been very wealthy myself, but I’ve been fortunate to be around other people who do have wealth. They’ve given me lots of experiences, like travel. I think that it’s showed me how you can do anything, with or without wealth” (Insolia).

6. Do you think that wealth or happiness can measure success?

“No, I don’t think that wealth can measure success. I think you’re successful if you can go to bed at night satisfied with the work you’ve done that day. To me, that’s success” (Insolia).

7. Would you consider yourself successful? Why? “Yes, right now I like my job. I actually have two jobs right now. I work with high achieving high school students in one and special needs students in the other. I also feel successful about staying home and raising children who are hopefully going to grow up and have the same ideas of success that I have” (Insolia).

The Place of Money in a Successful Life In the past, many societies deeply tied wealth to social class and land. For example, in feudal society, advancement for members of the lower class proved nearly impossible. However, as time progressed, people started to believe that anyone, no matter their social class, could improve themselves and achieve success. Before the 20th century, the majority of humans lived in conditions that greatly decreased the quality and length of their life (The Short History).

Therefore, financial success often enabled individuals to improve many aspects of their lives.

Today however, the majority of first world citizens live in conditions where additional wealth would not dramatically increase happiness or length of life. In our modern society, wealth often accompanies success, but success does not always come with wealth.

Although money does not guarantee success, it does remove many barriers between an individual and a successful life. For example, wealthier parents have a greater ability to support their children throughout their development. Although families of any economic class can provide comparable amounts of positive reinforcement to their children, wealthier families have the resources to give their children a quality education. Because level of education greatly correlates with income later in life, wealthy families can greatly increase the chance that their children also achieve financial success. Education also provides individuals with an opportunity to discover their interests, and to work towards a job in that field. While a college graduate can typically find a well paying job in their field of choice by their 40s, a highschool dropout might

struggle to qualify for jobs that pay more than minimum wage(Josephson). Additionally, individuals may fail to set and achieve meaningful goals if they struggle to stay alive. Clearly, money plays a large part in an individual’s chances at having a successful life.

However, despite the obstacles it removes, money does not ensure success. Even if an individual has access to wealth, many other factors play into their success. For example, an individual’s intelligence, work ethic, and their environment all play into their success. Even if a wealthy family can pay for their child’s education at a prestigious school, their child still needs to demonstrate intelligence in order for that school to admit them. Additionally, a high degree of success requires a high degree of determination. Without the drive to make and achieve personal goals, no person could achieve personal success. If an individual does not have to work towards their goals and overcome challenges, they will never derive happiness from their accomplishments.

In our modern society, money goes a long way to helping an individual achieve their goals and find success. However, people still require many other key traits in order to truly find happiness from their achievements.

I live in Chagrin Falls, a small town near Cleveland, with my two younger sisters, my parents, and my dog. When I was younger, I loved to play with Legos, blocks, or anything else that I could build. I also loved to climb anything that I could. My family didn’t buy a T.V. until I turned 8, so I mostly played outside, or in my room. Currently, I attend Chagrin Falls High school, and plan on graduating in 2019. In general, the most important accomplishments in my life have come through hard work and effort.

For example, playing the piano has brought me a great sense of accomplishment. I started playing piano in 4th grade, but I did not became truly interested in it until my sophomore year of high school. Every year, our piano teacher enters my sisters and I into a piano competition called the Junior Festival. Last year, I wanted to play a piece called ​Alla Turca​ for the next Junior Festival. My teacher told me that this would truely challenge me, but I loved the piece and decided that I the extra work would pay off.

Over the next few months, I practiced my piece every day for nearly an hour. By the time of the Junior Festival, I knew my piece by heart, and could play it very well. Because of my hard work, I received a superior rating (the highest rating that the Junior Festival judges award). The sense of accomplishment that this brought to me proved much greater than any other sense of fulfillment from times that I did not work to achieve success.

My ski trip to Whistler perfectly exemplifies this. I have always loved skiing, especially with my friends, so when my mom asked me if I wanted to go on a ski trip to Canada with my friends Parker and Chester, I could hardly contain my excitement. The trip turned out to be extremely fun, and the memories I made will likely last for the rest of my life.

Although many people may think of playing the piano as a fun way to express one’s musical desires, it proves much more beneficial than that.

As with most skills in life, playing the piano requires one must continually set and achieve increasingly challenging goals. Although this may sound difficult and tedious, it proves relatively straightforward, and provides the musician with many tangible benefits. Typically, a new piano student begins by learning basic techniques and concepts, such as how to read music, or the importance of using all of their fingers. As they practice more, their skills typically improve, leading them to seek out more difficult songs. For most players, these more difficult songs provide more entertainment than basic songs, encouraging them to continue to practice and improve their skills. Along with these skills, piano players gain many other benefits. For example, according to the American Psychological Association, music lessons increase the IQ of young children, and lead to better grades in high school compared to students who have no background in music(​Monitor on Psychology​). Additionally, music can give busy people a productive way to take a break from their work. According to an article from Harvard University, listening to music leads to lower levels of stress and can reduce the symptoms of depression(Harvard Health Publishing). In addition to these benefits, learning to play the piano also teaches many important lessons. For example, playing the piano teaches musicians that hard work pays off.

Works Cited Harvard Health Publishing. “Music and Health.” ​Harvard Health​, www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/music-and-health.

“Icarus (2017).” ​IMDb​, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt6333060/.

Insolia, Greta. Personal interview. 18 Apr. 2018.

Josephson, Amelia. “The Average Salary by Education Level.” ​SmartAsset​, 1 Mar. 2017, smartasset.com/retirement/the-average-salary-by-education-level.

Monitor on Psychology​, American Psychological Association, www.apa.org/monitor/jun06/iq.aspx.

Sasint. “Inspirational Hill Climbing.” ​Pixabay​, pixabay.com/en/adventure-height-level-arm-1807524/.

“The Short History of Global Living Conditions and Why It Matters That We Know It.” ​Our World in Data​, ourworldindata.org/a-history-of-global-living-conditions-in-5-charts.

“The Social Network (2010).” ​IMDb​, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt1285016/.