In the Western world we measure success by how much money an individual has, how financially comfortable they are in life.
There are myriad examples of this, we revere and idolise people like Elon Musk, Bill Gates, et al even the Enron, etc CEOs who stole people’s pensions and committed fraud but, hell they were rich. Perhaps the most infamous of these right now is Ruja Ignatova, the Crypto Queen. We don’t give two shits about the type of people they were, how they treated other people, how much they helped humanity or the planet, just how much money they had.
Someone like my cousin Alejandro García Negrón, who died just last week, drowned in Tenerife, by this measure was not a successful person. He wasn’t rich, the only thing he owned was a used, old van and was a kite surf instructor who lived at the whims of the elements, only finding work when the wind blew. He wasn’t famous, didn’t have a YouTube channel, did’t post videos on TikTok.
By our modern standards he wasn’t successful at all, some people might eve think he was a failure.
Yet Alejandro was the happiest person I’ve even met. Full of life and love, and always giving, to anyone he met, he imparted love and happiness without prejudice, he held none of it back, the more he gave, the happier he was. He had very few material possessions, only what he used on a daily basis, he told me he “wanted to be light”, be able to move around without material burdens, travel on a whim, wherever the road or moment took him.
And he did it. He lived in Venezuela, London, Australia, Spain, and other places I can’t remember right now. Always near the sea which was his muse and his natural habitat.
He never amassed a fortune or much money or possessions so he was definitely not a success in this money-centric view of the world. Yet Alejandro was one of the most successful people I’ve ever met. Everywhere he went, he made life-long friends who loved him unconditionally as he did them. People who ill always remember him fondly.
If we stop to think about it for a second, what good is money and all the toys and material possessions you can have when you are empty inside because you don’t have any real human connections? The richer you are the harder it is to make real friends. Sycophants you will have in the hundreds, real friends, who know and love you for the person you are? Very few.
Alejandro had true friends, people who loved him for the magnificent person he was, not for what he owned or what favours he could do for them. People who basked in that glow of love and happiness that he emanated at all times. At his memorial in Tenerife yesterday, hundreds of people attended, not only from different parts of the island but also from different parts of the world. People flew at short notice during Easter Holiday from Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Belgium, etc just to be there and send him some love one last time. They didn’t do it to gain financial favours, hell they had to pay their own way during Easter holidays when everything is more expensive, they did it out of love for him.
He touched all of these people’s lives in a very positive, personal and memorable way. When was the last time you heard one of these millionaires do something similar?
I think it’s time to rethink our meaning and measure of success. Instead of chasing cold, hard cash and material possessions, let’s chase human connections, meaningful relationships, let’s strive to do some good in this world and find happiness and fulfilment through that, not by owning the latest version of the iPhone or whatever new must-have toy is in vogue right now.
Let’s take a page from Alejandro’s life, let’s give love and friendship and happiness without prejudice or reserve, not only are they free but there is an endless supply of them, you will never run out. And the best part is the more you give, the more you get back.
