Devils in Depth: Success

“Devils in Depth” is a project that gets down to earth and captures the diversity of Arizona State’s student population. We engage in conversations with students in an effort to learn more about their passions and get a feel for who they really are. Then we ask them their thoughts on a central theme. This week’s theme is centered on success.

Sarah and Dalal

Dalal: “[Success is] achieving your dreams, trying your best and even if you fail the first time, you keep trying.”

Sarah: “Success is not knowing limits. Success is finding what makes you happy and makes the greatest impact and makes the most people happy. Success is always going after your dream and never feeling failure.”

D: “My sister is my role model. She [received] her bachelor’s degree when she was 20. At almost 22 she got her master’s and now she’s 30 and she’s a manager of the company she works at. She’s successful, she put goals ahead of her and she achieved her goals.”

S: “I think Oprah Winfrey is really successful. She really is the rags-to-riches story and she found her voice and always spoke for other people.”

“A person has to have the ambition and desire to better their life and to find success, but also has to be willing to accept help from others and accept different resources like financial resources.”

Rachel

“Gratitude…I think you should be thankful for all the opportunities that you have and for everything that you have experienced. I think you need to be compassionate in everything you do. Everyone experiences things differently and you need to realize that your interaction with them is going to affect them in some way or another — even if it’s a very small interaction for you it could be more for someone else, you need to show kindness and compassion to people in life to get ahead. I think you need to take pride in your work and make sure you’re doing your best work and putting your best foot [forward].”

“Your situation in life, the opportunities available to you can make success easier or harder, but I think it takes a lot of internal strength and knowledge to become successful.”

Sidarth

“I think my parents [are successful people]. My dad has his own business so he’s completely stress-free, he’s his own boss. My mom works for the government and is also stress-free. She can go to work whenever she wants and take off whenever she wants. They always put their foot [down] when it matters the most. They don’t mess around.”

Ryan

“Success is all just your own perspective on how you get things done on time and [how] you have your goals and you reach them. It’s not about how much money you make, but as long as you reach your end goal, [that’s] all that matters.”

“I know compassion is just being nice toward others and getting a feel of what it’s like being in their shoes. Pride is just showing support in stuff you believe in and gratitude is being generous towards others.”

“My dad was my age when he finished his bachelor’s in Iran and he wanted to go to school in the U.S. So, he took all of his exams, applied for a visa, got it and went to school in Boston. He wanted to go back to Iran, but then the revolution happened and he was stuck here, then I came into their life along with my brother. He worked really hard to get to where he wanted to be, and it wasn’t exactly what his goal was, but he got to build a family and I think that’s what matters.”