In an earlier post, I outlined six misconceptions that stifle success.  They are:

• Pleasure equals happiness
• Opinion equals fact
• Winning equals success
• Autonomy equals freedom
• Convenience equals peace of mind
• Legal equals ethical

When we use words without concern for their meaning, we deprive ourselves of the ability to think clearly.  We confuse goals with side-effects, assets with obstructions, and benefits with pitfalls.  We sabotage our own success because we aren’t clear about where we’re going or how we’re going to get there.

When we mistake happiness for pleasure, we end up chasing after instant gratification, which is emotional junk food.  When we don’t consider ourselves winners unless someone else is losing, we drive away potential allies and advocates.  When we refuse to reexamine our opinions, we are often denying reality.

The belief that freedom means no restrictions destroys discipline and makes us slaves to our bad habits.  The notion that convenience leads to tranquility leaves us unable to cope with life’s difficulties and disappointments.  And exploiting legal loopholes makes us untrustworthy and untrusted.

So let’s get down to definitions.

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