Polski sukces sukcesu w świetle opracowań leksykograficznych i literatury popularnopsychologicznej
Polish success of success in the light of lexicographical works and self-help books

Summary/Abstract: In her article the author discusses “success” – one of most important words defining thecontemporary culture and people. She asks about the meaning of the word and comparesits use in self-help books with the definition found in dictionaries of the Polish language.How is the contemporary “culture of success” created by those “new” meaning profiles?The first part of the analysis concerns the semantics of “success” in selected historical andmodern dictionaries. K. Skowronek points out that the word has undergone the processof amelioration: from a neutral element to a positive one. The second part of the article isa narrative analysis. The author presents the semantics of the word in contemporary self-helpbooks. She highlights its individualistic and self-disciplining character. Nowadays, success issynonymous with happiness and the meaning of life. It predominantly entails an obsessivechase while not necessarily a real achievement.

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