Think You're a Failure? Rabbi Aaron Moss's Stunning Answer Will Open Your Eyes

"My career is probably coming to an end, and it saddens me. I am an actor, professional, diligent, and I believe I have talent, but every time I get close to landing a significant role, something goes wrong. I am starting to think that perhaps I'm just not meant to be an actor. Should I just accept that I am a failure?" This question was directed to Rabbi Aaron Moss, a teacher of Kabbalah, Talmud, and Judaism in Sydney, Australia.

Rabbi Moss's response is surprising and thought-provoking: "My friend, there is only one thing you need to accept: you are not an actor. You might be good at acting, but it's not who you are – it's just what you do. Stop identifying so much with your career. You need to discover an identity that exists beyond your work. If you do so, success and failure in your career will not be the measure of success in your life," replied Rabbi Moss.

"In our world full of distorted values, a person is called successful because he made a lot of money. He may have abandoned his third wife, disconnected from his children, has no friends and even his dog ran away from him... but he succeeded in his 'career' and people say: 'I wish I were as lucky as him'.

"We achieve true success when we succeed in our relationships," emphasized Rabbi Moss. "If you are a caring friend who is there for your friends in times of trouble, if you take good care of your parents, if you support and understand your spouse, if you are a devoted parent nurturing your children – then you are successful. Those who contribute to the community – not just with their money, but also with their time and efforts – those who have developed fulfilling relationships with Hashem and fellow humans – these are the true success stories.

"As long as we personally identify with our profession – I am an actor, I am a salesperson, I am a computer technician – we continue to tie our success as people to our success in our careers. But this is not the truth. We are not defined by our work. What we do for a living is different from what we do for our lives. We work to live. But to create our lives, we must love, form personal connections, serve a purpose, and find true meaning in life.

"Hashem has given us a wonderful gift called Shabbat. For one day a week, we step away from the roles we play during the workweek and return to our true selves. We stop being staff members of some company, and instead, we become members of a community. We are no longer workers or employers, but brothers and sisters, children, parents, and friends. We do not work for our boss to get the job done, but we work for 'the big Boss' to fulfill our mission.

"Maybe you are doing your job excellently, and maybe not, but more importantly, you should excel at being human. When it comes to being human, even a failing businessman can be a success story, and an actor struggling to get good roles can be a star," concluded Rabbi Moss.