Success Offers No Guarantees

Ecclesiastes 6:7-9 AMP: All the labor of man is for his mouth [for self-preservation and enjoyment], and yet the desire [of his soul] is not satisfied. For what advantage has the wise man over the fool [for being worldly-wise is not the secret to happiness]? What advantage has the poor man who has learned how to walk [publicly] among the living [with men’s eyes on him; for being poor is not the secret to happiness either]? What the eyes see [enjoying what is available] is better than [craving] what the soul desires. This too is futility and chasing after the wind.

Nothing is guaranteed in life. No one can be absolutely sure to win. You can practice all the positive thinking you know and still end up not succeeding like you expect to. And when you sucveed, it offers no guarantees. 

Success is not ended in itself. Success does not offer a guarantee of true happiness, nor does it assure you of inner fulfilment. That's why you can succeed at a particular goal and still feel empty. 

Solomon at a point was the wealthiest man in history. He had 12 horses and 1,400 chariots. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. He composed 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. Legend has it that he could decode the language of birds. But with all this success that he achieved, there was still a void. He ended it all by saying all is vanity. Here is how he described it as Vapour of vapours and futility of futilities, says the preacher. All is futility ( emptiness, falsity, vainglory, and transitoriness ) (Ecclesiastes 12:18 Amp) 

At the end of it all, it won't matter how many laurels you have accumulated. Your worldly possession won't count for anything. Things will not make you happy or fulfilled.