To me success means effectiveness in the world, that I am able

Hear the wise and steadfast words of Maxine Hong Kingston, who proclaimed: “To me success means effectiveness in the world, that I am able to carry my ideas and values into the world—that I am able to change it in positive ways.” In this saying lies a truth deeper than wealth, higher than fame, and stronger than vanity. For what is success, if not the ability to take what is within the soul and pour it into the world so that others may be changed, uplifted, and healed? Success, she teaches, is not measured by possessions, but by effectiveness, by the ability to make one’s truth visible in deeds that endure.

The origin of these words rests in Kingston’s life as a writer and cultural voice. As a Chinese-American woman, she carried within her the burden of two traditions, the tensions of assimilation and identity. Her works, such as The Woman Warrior, did not merely tell stories—they carried her ideas and values into the world. She spoke of memory, myth, struggle, and resilience, and in doing so, she changed how the world understood both her people and itself. Her definition of success arose not from personal acclaim, but from the conviction that her words made a difference, that they were effective in shaping consciousness and inspiring transformation.

History confirms this vision. Consider the life of Mahatma Gandhi, who owned little, sought no wealth, and wore only the simplest of garments. Yet he was profoundly effective in the world. He carried his values of nonviolence and truth into the heart of empire, and through his effectiveness he moved millions to act, shook the foundations of colonial rule, and inspired freedom movements across continents. Gandhi’s life, like Kingston’s words, reveals that success is not the amassing of personal gain but the ability to plant positive change in the soil of history.

The meaning of Kingston’s words is also a rebuke to shallow notions of achievement. Too often, society measures success by the house one builds, the title one wears, or the gold one gathers. But such things fade. Titles are forgotten, fortunes squandered, monuments crumble. What endures are the values carried into action, the truths embodied in the world, the positive ways in which one has bent the course of human lives toward justice, compassion, and beauty. True success is not in the hand, but in the heart, and in the legacy left behind.

Yet her words also speak to responsibility. To carry one’s ideas and values into the world is not a passive act—it requires courage, labor, and sacrifice. The world resists change. It mocks new ideas, it punishes those who dare to challenge its injustices. To be successful in Kingston’s sense is to endure that resistance, to stand firm, and to insist that what is right must be seen, must be heard, must be lived. This is not a path of ease, but of endurance, and it is the mark of those who live with heroic intention.

The lesson for us is this: measure your success not by applause, but by effectiveness. Ask yourself: have I carried my values into the world? Have I left those I meet better than I found them? Have I helped transform my corner of existence in even the smallest positive way? For these are the questions that will echo when wealth has vanished and applause has fallen silent. Success is not the ladder you climb, but the footprints you leave on the path of others.

Practically, this means living with intention each day. Do not let your values remain silent in your mind. Speak them, act them, embody them. If you believe in justice, fight for it. If you believe in compassion, practice it. If you believe in beauty, create it. No action is too small, for in the accumulation of small positive acts the world itself is reshaped. In this way, you too may be effective, and thus truly successful.

So let us carry forward the wisdom of Maxine Hong Kingston: “Success means effectiveness in the world… to change it in positive ways.” Let this be our standard, higher than wealth, truer than power, nobler than fame. For when our lives are weighed, it will not be riches or renown that grant us greatness, but the measure of the good we gave, the truths we carried forth, and the light we left burning for those yet to come.