Success is when one human enables another to enable another – by Tarun Agarwala

What is Success?

Today, whether in developed or developing nations, success is being increasingly measured by personal achievement – wealth, status, or individual recognition.

But for humans, success has always been something deeper.

Success is when one human enables another to enable another.

It’s not just about personal gain; it’s about creating a chain of support, where our actions help others thrive and continue the cycle.

This idea isn’t just philosophical – it’s evolutionary. Humans have always depended on each other for survival.

We equip our children with the knowledge and skills they need to equip their own children. The best leaders train their teams to empower the next generation of workers. And as communities, we cooperate to build societies that outlast us.

Anthropologist Michael Tomasello’s research on the evolution of cooperation shows that humans, unlike other species, have a unique ability to collaborate (across space and time) to help each other succeed.

And what traits enable this cooperation?

Empathy, Compassion, and Kindness.

While these traits are interrelated, each plays a distinct role in enabling cooperation –

Empathy helps us care deeply for our family and those like us. It allows us to understand and predict others’ needs or instances of emotions, which is crucial for coordinated efforts in group living.

By emotionally “tuning in” to each other, early humans could work together effectively – whether in hunting, resource-sharing, or protecting one another.

Compassion extends this care beyond immediate kin to wider communities, particularly in alleviating suffering.

It drives altruism, prompting us to care for the sick, injured, or vulnerable to strengthen the group’s survival as a whole.

Kindness reinforces our social bonds through generous or helpful actions.

In small hunter-gatherer groups, kindness meant sharing food with a hungry clan member.

This not only helped the individual but also encouraged reciprocity, ensuring support in times of need (a principle known as reciprocal altruism).

Together, these traits evolved to make our species more cohesive and resilient.

Charles Darwin noted that communities with more “sympathetic” and helpful members would flourish best – raising more offspring and ensuring survival through prosocial behavior.

Therefore, if you want to measure success, don’t ask how much you have achieved.

Ask who you have enabled, and who they will enable next.

Because for a social species like ours, success isn’t about standing alone. It’s about lifting others, so they, too, can lift others.

Learn more about Tarun Agarwala