What do we need to be happy? Is it a nice car? Maybe it's a new pair of shoes? And success? What defines success and what do you need to be successful? The truth is that it depends on one's definition. Success can be defined in different ways. Success can be defined as being financially stable, or it can be something as simple as feeling accomplished with goals achieved. Norman Rockwell's painting "The Catch" offers refreshing ideas about what it means to be happy and what one needs to succeed. At first glance, Rockwell's painting depicts a successful day of fishing for three young friends, all of whom have their catch for the day strung in one hand and their fishing gear in the other. Of the three boys in the photo, there is a well-dressed boy in the center and two boys standing on either side of him. The two boys standing on either side are dressed in rags and use only skinny twigs as fishing rods. The boy in the center of the frame is well dressed and wearing smart clothes, but he stands with shrugged shoulders and a sullen look on his face. Surprisingly, the two boys in tattered clothes appear ecstatic with bubbly expressions painted from ear to ear. The details of the boys' emotions in Rockwell's painting raise questions about the relationship between money and happiness. Theories regarding the links between money and happiness have been the subject of reflection for centuries. Shakespeare expressed his theory on the matter when he wrote “Poor and the content is rich, and rich enough” (Shakespeare, 3.3.177). Shakespeare's words can be translated as the idea that even if a person does not have much money, if that person is happy, he is rich enough in other ways than my...... middle of paper..... .being happy and what it means to succeed. Being happy is not the same as being rich, and money is not a necessity for being happy or successful. Money can make it easier to accomplish tasks, but money cannot buy success. Works Cited Mihaly Csikszentmihaly. “Flow, the secret to happiness.” TED. February 2004. Invited conference. Rand, Ayn. Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights. Internet. June 11, 2015. http://www.aynrand.org/Rockwell, Norman. The catch. 1919. Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge. Norman Rockwell Museum. Oil on canvas. November 12, 2013. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice. Ed. Tucker Brooke and Lawrence Mason. New Haven: Yale UP, 1947. Print. Venzia, Mike. Norman Rockwell. Danbury: Grolier, 2000. Print.Wattles, Wallace D. The Science of Getting Rich. Blacksburg: Thrifty Books, 2009. Print.