Hi everyone! I'm new here! Can anyone please look at my essay?

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While it is not entirely without merit to claim that the goals one sets for oneself are fundamental on the road to success, the goals themselves are in fact not the perfect measurement of true success. In my opinion, the goals we set for ourselves are far from enough for us to achieve true success, and therefore true success should not be primarily measured only in terms of the goals.

Some might argue that an ambitious and practical goal can set a clear direction for us to prevent us from going astray. However, in order to become a truly successful person, a clear direction is not enough. In fact, a considerable number of other important qualities are required to achieve success in addition to the goals one sets for oneself. For example, if a person is not persistent in the pursuit of his goals, the goals he sets for himself would only remain as mere imagination that will never be transformed into success. Michelangelo spent four years painting his masterpiece on the ceiling of Sistine Chapel. Before the frescos were finished, however, Michelangelo went through a really hard time when he had no money and suffered painfully from the physical discomfort of constantly standing on the wooden scaffolds and paint with his face looking upwards. If Michelangelo did not have the unrelenting determination to complete his painting, he would have been regarded as only an outstanding sculptor and would never have been known as also one of the most talented painters during the Renaissance.

Not only persistence is one of the deciding factors of becoming a successful person, but resilience is also a crucial indicator of success as well. Suppose a person has both set his ambitious goals and put tremendous effort and energy into his goals, but if he is afraid of failure and easily gives up once defeated, he will definitely not be able to achieve true success. Elon Musk, the legendary entrepreneur, not only made incredible lofty goals such as sending humans to Mars, devoted a considerable amount of time and energy into his visionary projects, but also possessed an uncanny resilience in front of failure. As has been proved by his own words, “If you are not failing enough, you are not innovating enough”, Elon musk refused to quit even when SpaceX had crashed its rockets so many times that it was on the brink of bankruptcy. If Elon Musk had relinquished his space projects in the face of failure, he would have become broken and trapped in huge debt, and he would never have become the successful entrepreneur and billionaire he is today.

As we can see, the goals one sets for oneself are by no means an accurate measurement of true success. Without important attributes such as resilience and persistence, true success can never be attained even if the goals themselves are ambitious.