It is frequently claimed that only people who earn a great deal of money can be considered successful. While I accept that financial success can help people achieve their goals, I disagree with this claim, both because success can be achieved in different professions and because high incomes often come with problems affecting health, family relationships and personal life.
The central weakness of this argument is that money is not the tool that gives people success. This occurs because people in different professions judge success by different things, which means that many can feel successful without earning a large amount. The consequence is that many people with high incomes do not consider themselves successful. Over time, this shows that success depends on work ability or job satisfaction rather than on salary. A clear example can be seen among those with a great ability such as drawing or cooking, who are respected and loved for their skills.
A second problem with this claim is that earning a large amount can damage relationships and personal life. The reason for this is that in order to become rich, people spend most of their time working. Consequently, this causes serious issues with their health and family relationships. In the long run, they lose exactly what most of them were working for. This is particularly evident among those in demanding corporate roles, who rarely see their families during the week.
In conclusion, I largely disagree with this view. The existence of success in many different fields and the personal cost of high earnings show that the argument is weaker than it first appears.