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Real Success Has Nothing to Do with Ignorance!

Prompt: Mark Twain said, "To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence." Do you agree or disagree? What do you think is the key to success?

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If I could change the words “to succeed in life” to “to succeed in our faulty world,” the saying could have some merit. One may take up a challenge or a hobby not knowing what it entails. If the encounter with the subject is something he enjoys and finds out he wants to work with it, he may continue on with that journey, and to continue, his confidence may help him along the way. Anyone who takes up serious photography discovers that it is a difficult prospect and a costly one, for example.

Otherwise, this is another glib saying, since “life” has a larger meaning and people relate to the word in a different and personal way. The same goes for success and the degree of it.

If the saying means literally “to succeed in life,” I don’t agree with it for I was never a fan of the ignorance-is-bliss idea. The only positive side of ignorance is its disregarding of the inward doubts a person may cultivate within himself. As inward doubts hold most people hostage and prolong or hinder their success, I guess some ignorance may help. I, however, like to go into something knowing what I am getting into.

The key to success, for me, is neither ignorance nor confidence; I favor perseverance. If you keep at something and learn from your mistakes along the way without giving credence to self-defeating doubts, you’re bound to gather some degree of success.