It is vital to define success although currently criteria are colorful. A sound definition of the term helps people to live and learn better. Moreover, it plays an important role in the construction of good social mores.
It is wrong to say that people are not successful if they have failed to make a huge sum of money. The reason is that whether one is successful is not only measured with material yardstick but also against the spiritual criterion. Spiritual achievements and contributions bear little relationship with money. Put it in other word, many of those who have not earned sufficient money are considered successful for their accomplishments. For instance, my mother has never been able to make enough money but she is successful in that she has told us why we live.
To emphasize the spiritual elements in the understanding of what success is is not to deny the importance of the ability to make money. On the contrary, the capability to make a massive sum of money in many cases is a kind of success. In terms of the individual development, any human being in a modern society where money is the main economic dimension must be able to live independently by means of earning and spending. In terms of the society development, a country must be rich enough to protect basic human rights, provide foods, and offer education to its members. Otherwise it is not successful.
In conclusion, money is not the only standard of success, but it is necessary to be able to make money.