Have you ever wondered "what does it take to succeed on a big scale?"

A tremendous God-given talent? Inherited wealth? Intelligence? Connections? How much control do we have over these? Like many people, many don't have many.

However, we can choose certain paths and depending on which direction we take, this may lead us to happiness or even utopia.

We can choose to be results oriented, motivated by achievement and fear loss of control. Or the people oriented type, good at relating to others and making sure that everyone is taken care of and no one is left out.

Results orientation will certainly increase the chance of success, even improve your bank balance but it comes with some terms and conditions; arrogance, elitism, arduousness, recrimination or even neurosis. All you need in life is ignorance and confidence - and then success is sure. But will this make you happy?

A friend once said that he can decide which route to take by evaluating if the results outweigh the relationship, which I believe is a results oriented statement in itself. The rampant consumerism of contemporary society has turned many of us into ambitious but self indulgent people. Material progress has undermined the unyielding happiness of a sincere friendship, replacing it with jealousy, fear and suspicion.

Consider this article to be a bit one-sided? Well, maybe I am just being results oriented!