<p>(Hi guys, help me out and grade my practice essay on a scale of 12.)</p>
<p>Prompt: Is trying to please people a way to achieve success or a route to failure?</p>
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<p>Man is a social creature, and his role in humanity is governed by the manner in which he interacts with other members of the human race. To his own detriment, however, man has often taken his social tendencies to an unnecessary level, in attempting to please everyone with his pursuits. Trying to please everyone can be a motivating factor but it is hardly the stepping stone to success. Perhaps the best stepping stone towards success would be the pursuit of what one believes to be right, instead of what one believes others will perceive as right. </p>
<p>Today Mahatma Gandhi is known globally as the man who brought freedom to India. However, few know that Gandhi had not pleased every citizen of the country that he led through the tumultuous Independence Movement. In fact, there were many who did not share Gandhi’s belief in a peaceful, nonviolent resolution for the independence struggle. There were also Hindus and Muslims who did not share Gandhi’s enthusiasm for an India in which members of all religions and castes (social strata) would be held in equal standing. Thankfully, despite such pressures, Gandhi stayed true to his principles, and in his failure to please every, was his success in birthing the Indian Independence. </p>
<p>Martin Luther King is another example of a man who was forced to choose between the righteous pursuit of a cause in which he believed, and the approval of the members of his community. King, influenced by Gandhi, was an ardent believer in nonviolence and a peaceful route to conflict resolution, while others in the Black community, hurt, oppressed and disenfranchised, chose to give their support to leaders such as Malcolm X, who had no qualms with resorting to violence. By sticking to his beliefs, however, King commanded respect as the foremost leader of the Civil Rights Movement that eventually won, by the power of activism, rights for the Blacks.</p>
<p>Examples such as Gandhi’s and King’s bring forth important points in our case. There come moments in our lives when were are forced to choose between pleasing everyone and cementing our successes by embarking on a path that we believe in. And when such moments come our way, it is for the best that we should choose the path that we believe will bring us success instead of attempting to please everyone else and failing to please ourselves in the process</p>