Tattoos on the Heart: Success

Gregory Boyle begins chapter eight: “Success with a few questions that seem so simplistic at first glance. What is success and what is failure? What is good and what is bad? Setback or progress?” (Boyle 167). Taking a few moments to process these questions, one realizes that the question is quite complex and difficult. Success has such a subjective definition that it can only be defined by the one who answers the question of “what is success to you?” and has no universal definition. Specifically with gang members, success in the context of their lives is about personal growth and less about tangible results. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”(Biblegateway). Their lives have endured much turmoil and through experiences they find what is good and acceptable and perfect to themselves. Individuals may have their own views on success and failures, and these views may be similar or vastly different. Success for anyone, particularly the gang members, is doing the best one can in any given situation. This may be forgiving the killer of your son or deciding to discontinue participation in gang activities. Although defining success proves to be elusive there are many forms of success that should be embraced with open arms.
From personal experiences my definition of success has differed greatly from time to time. This is similar to how success of a gang member is dependent on where they currently happen to be in their lives. On one day success was defined as getting out of bed and staying awake for me, just as how a gang member thinking about changing his life. Getting out of bed is quite an insignificant act on its own, but in that period of my life I was not able to function and this was considered to be quite successful. A gang member simply thinking about his life may not be a significant act on its own, but when he has