Success and the ladder thereof?

So many times I have heard of the saying, " the ladder of success." I have thought about it and I refuse to ride that tidal wave. The more I think about it, there is no ladder of success. This is because the saying presupposes that success is one dimensional which couldn't be further from the truth. They are right and wrong. You see, it is true you are climbing up and it is one step at at time, sometimes we can skip a few steps but it is always step by step. The thing is it is not a ladder, but a pyramid. You see the pyramid's base is at it's widest and narrows as you go up. You see in life when we are just starting out we have so many people around us, friends, acquitances, colleagues, family but once we start climbing the pyramid, when we take the next step, the space becomes narrower, it is not as wide as it was at the base. That means we cannot accommodate people the same way as we did before and so what happens is, some fall off along the way, others can't climb. We might want them to be there but it is just not possible and such is life. It so happens that, this pyramid is in every are of our life, whether it is business, career, education, family, you name it. You since the space is limited the reason why we find so fewer people in the next step is that we find that others can no longer climb, don't want to climb anymore, maybe they are comfortable where they are or they are pushed off the pyramid all together. We are wired that way, to want more. I find it that sometimes during the climb, I get tired, you get tired and we take time to rest in our step and we are inclined to watch others climb and for me personally it is difficult to watch others climb as I sit as I always aspire to want more. I have also observed that during the climb up, once we reach the very top we realize something tragic. It happens and in some cases we were not very conscience about it and so it comes as a rude shock. The rude shock is that there is nothing there. You look around and there is nothing there, it is very lonely at the top. In most cases we look around and are discouraged, why did we climb all this way if there is nothing here. We forget that although it is true, there is nothing here at the top....except that which you brought with you. The things that were valuable to you. In most cases when we reach the top of one pyramid and we see there is nothing there, we desperately try to jump to another pyramid and start climbing again, all the way from down there. It is tyring and can get one easily frustrated. Find the things that are valuable to you, your family, friends, whatever it is..and you have to make it the reason you climb. The thing that you are trying to protect and build by climbing the pyramid. Because if there is nothing at the top, then why climb? What is the aim? So we need to create meaning for ourselves. Why are we sacrificing our day to day lives, years, decades? You need to find that meaningful something, find it and build it, create it. In some cases, that which we hold dear or is important to us changes and we have difficulty dealing with it. In introspection, it is true in my cases I hold family dear and close to heart, but as I recently realized, families are broken apart by divorce and then they are farther broken apart by children going off to universities and then their jobs away from parents...so in some cases it becomes difficult to find meaning for yourself especially if like me family was the thing to you. Recently, since I'm by myself living for myself, seeking pleasure etc, I found it is a lonesome and empty experience. it was fun for a while, but then having money, buying things for yourself just to have just that little bit of a thrill ended quickly when I realized I am exhibiting an addict symptoms. It was my own form of drug. It is actually fundamentality foolish but indulging on those appetites got me going at first, then it became a weight because I could not derive meaning for myself from it. Right now my son is with his mother and as my son gets older, I realize he will need me more and his mother less because right now he is walking around, climbing stuff.. I'm realizing that I miss him, and I know he misses me too, and that, to me believe it or not is a good feeling to know that someone misses me and needs me that is where I will derive my meaning. The pyramid will give me purpose as it pokes on my desire for competiton but for the climb I need meaning. The pyramid is just a means to safeguard and protect that which I already love. The issue is not what pyramid you are climbing, but that which gives you meaning, that which you love and care for as that is the thing that will give you true happiness.