The Road to a Fulfilling Life essay 
Wes Moore’s book The Work: My Search for a Life That Matters, hereby referred to as the memoir, is a synopsis of the struggles and ingredients necessary for an individual to find fulfillment on earth. The memoir summarizes Moore’s life experience and that of the other individuals in search for a fulfilling career opportunity. It underscores the aspects of life such as grit, motivation, hard work, failure, success, setbacks, right thinking, and happiness among many others. Moreover, this memoir the fact that there is no single manual to success, though one must adhere to some basic requirements to reach fulfillment in life. Thus, this paper aims at discussing some of the basic requirements that one must implement in order to gain fulfillment. In addition, it will also introduce some of the encounters on the road to success as narrated by Wes Moore in his work. The road to finding fulfillment in life is full of struggles and also requires many ingredients
Basic Requirements to Succeed
There are many requirements discussed by Moore in search of a fulfilling life. Some of them include right thinking, self sacrifice, building relationships and networks, setting long term and short term goals as well as having patience and humility during the delivery of service to the others. The work begins with a quotation from Martin Luther King who asserted, “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve”. This notion of servant-hood towards greatness is further discussed throughout the piece of work through specific examples. According to the author, working for other people came with a sense of pride and fulfillment. His grandparents, for example, found utmost happiness in working for other people. Similarly, they were much proud of Moore’s position as a servant in the military. The other author such as Deborah Perkins also underscores the servant-hood and the willingness to suffer for others as a basic requirement for success. Perkins is quite clear that she would be happy to see her daughters gain right attitudes one of which is willingness to suffer for the others.
Right relationships and networks is another key factor discussed by Moore as a factor of success. The role of other people in the attainment of success is also explored by Van Dyke and Ditsela. Moore alludes to many examples where having good networks led to fulfillment. One of them reveals the American Mojo’s failure which Darr attributes to the lack of good relationships with the big brands. According to Darr, the failure of the owners to build right relationships and networks despite the availability of time resulted in the ultimate failure of the organization.
Furthermore, hard work is also highlighted as a vital element of success in life. American Mojo’s example is used by the author to emphasize the need for hard work despite the existence of many setbacks. Dweck also underlines the necessity of hard work especially for students with a growth mindset. She says, “Those with growth mindsets reported that, after a setback in school, they would simply study more or study differently”. Cara Aley, the co-founder of American Mojo, makes it clear that Mojo’s failures would not prevent her from trying again. She says, “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something, I can’t accept not trying”. Aley clarifies that she would easily accept failure but would never hold a mindset that requires her not to try again due to the unsuccessful attempt. This kind of attitude where one continues to work extra hard despite failure and setbacks is described by Perkins as resilience. In one of her definitions, she demystifies that resilience is the ability to return despite the temporary setbacks.
Training and preparedness are also explored as the factors of success and fulfillment in life. According to Moore, his training in the military gave him the kind of discipline he required to work as a cadet, a combat officer as well as take the other assignments inside and outside the military. In addition, training also availed him with the opportunity to form the support groups with people who would later be of utmost help in his life. Finally, training also equipped him with the right tools and skills to establish good rapport with people he encountered in daily life. Similarly, Perkins explores the role of character education in preparing the individuals for deployment in various assignments. She explains that despite limited resources, the Upper District invested heavily in character education in order to endow their children with the qualities needed to succeed. Perkins explains that “if children are taught to try harder they could find fulfillment in life’. Clearly, the need for training and preparation cannot be underestimated.
Setbacks and Challenges towards Success
Moore also explores some of the setbacks that are encountered on the road to success. These setbacks include failure, fear, and discouragement. During his assignments as a military officer, Moore faced various situations that caused immense fear and almost prevented him from achieving the results. The fear of bullets, death, and failure are discussed as some of the challenges that kept him from succeeding. Ultimately, Moore had to manage to find the ways of overcoming such fear in order to achieve the desired aim in his tasks. Besides, failure is explored as another important impendent towards finding the fulfillment. Dweck asserts that “many students often back off when faced with difficult situations”. American Mojo’s closure was one of the greatest setbacks faced by Cara Aley and her family members. Moore overcame failure by recalling the words from his dad, which underscored it as a necessary setback on the road to success. Quoting his father, he asserts, “Do not be afraid of failure, but be afraid of not trying”,. Van and Ditsela explains that “people with internal locus of control tend to have a higher degree of fulfillment”. Dweck, agrees with Moore by explaining that failure and mistakes were common discouragements capable of demoralizing a person and preventing him/her from attaining fulfillment and working towards success. Inadequate employment opportunities in the public and private sectors made it extremely hard for some of Moore’s friends to find fulfillment in life. Nevertheless, Moore asserts that the absence of such chances provides an opportunity for the individuals to analyze their unique talents and ideals. Overall, one has to overcome a myriad of challenges before reaching the ultimate fulfillment in life.
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Conclusion
To sum up, Moore’s book can be construed as a guide towards finding fulfillment in life despite the existence of a myriad of challenges and setbacks. Although Moore’s work emphasizes that there is no specific formula of gaining fulfillment, his work discusses the basic ingredients that play a significant role in attaining the success. Some of these elements include resilience, hard work, patience, right mindset, and motivation among others. In addition, one must be prepared to meet and overcome a number of setbacks which embrace failure, the absence of opportunities, personal inadequacies such as fear and hard economic times.
