In your opinion, what is the most important characteristic to be successful in life?
The most important characteristic for me to be successful in life is honesty. I would not be satisfied with whatever anything I do if I am not being honest not only to other people but also to myself.
Honesty to other people is a key to any successful life, as you cannot achieve success without other people's support. Some people just use others and do not appreciate them, and they eventually fail. Honesty is needed to see what you really are and to make your success a real one.
Honesty to myself is also important. I worked as a sales person for more than five years. During these years, I had said and done said and did
many things that I would not have if it were not for work. I sold
expensive luggage that I would never buy for myself, or I was very nice
to a person who came to our store just to insult the staff. I sometimes
had to be pushy or tolerant with people whom I did not wish to talk to.
In a sense, I needed to be someone else, ignoring what I really felt.
However,
in my opinion, these things happen when you work. You do what you have
to do. The important fact in such cases is if I am being honest to
myself. I want to do my best at the job, however, it does not mean I
would do anything. There is always a limit. I would not go farther if I start started feeling uncomfortable. I would like to be honest to my work and myself at the same time.
I am not a millionaire and may not be financially successful, however, I am quite content with my life. I would like to make more money, do more things, and keep leading a happy life without losing honesty.
Comments
As for Japanese people's words "日本語が上手", I must say they are not always lies, because I myself sometimes say that to foreigners, but I do mean it every time. It might be because we do not hear a foreigner speaking Japanese often. I have a couple of friends who have been living in Japan for years, but never speak Japanese except short words like "ありがとう", "すみません", or ”どうも". When I hear someone says more than these, for example, "今日はちょっと寒いですね”, then I do think "Wow, she speaks Japanese very well." Yes, there is a person who is fluent like our Steve(!), but we hardly see someone like him in person. Please understand us hearing non-native's Japanese is much less common than English speaker hearing non-native's English.
Anyway, this is my "honest" opinion! :-)