To reflect upon the year’s end, ArtCorps Artist Daniela Prieto shares a poem about success, written by a Guatemalan friend who was killed.
Success doesn’t always have to do with what people ordinarily imagine.
It’s not about your titles or degrees, whether noble or academic, nor about the blood you inherit or the school where you studied.
It’s not about the dimensions of your house, about how many cars fit in your garage, or if they are the latest models.
It’s not about whether you are a prominent member of social clubs, or if you are written up in the newspapers.
It has nothing to do with the power you command or if you are a good administrator, if you speak well or if the spotlight follows you when you do so.
It’s not the technology that you use, no matter how brilliant and advanced.
It doesn’t come from the clothes that you use, nor does it matter if you have a timeshare or go to the border often, or if you have dazzling letters after your name to define your status in the social mirror.
It doesn’t matter if you are an entrepreneur, if you speak many languages, if you are attractive, young or old.
Success…
Comes from how many people smile at you, how many people you love and how many admire your sincerity and the humility of your spirit.
It’s about whether they remember you after you go.
It refers to how many people you help, how many you avoid hurting, and whether or not you bear malice in your heart.
It’s about whether you always included your dreams in your triumphs.
Whether you built your success on the misfortune of others, whether your achievements injure your fellow man.
It has to do with your inclusion with others, not your control over them;
Your openness to others, not your façade before them.
It’s about whether you used your head as much as your heart;
If you were self-centered or generous, if you loved nature and children and were concerned for the elderly.
It’s about your goodness, your desire to serve, your capacity to listen and your values.
It has nothing to do with how many people follow you, rather with how many really love you.
It has nothing to do with transmitting everything, rather with how many people believe you;
It is about if you are happy or if you simply pretend to be.
It’s about balance, about justice, about the good that leads to well-being.
It’s about your clean conscience, your undefeated dignity, your desire to be more, not to have more.
Marco Antonio Sánchez García, Guatemala
