In a much ballyhooed, heated court case both parties battled bitterly and were geared for the worst. After one particularly grueling session, Sutton escorted the storied Muslim minister from a New York courthouse, surrounded by heavily armed bodyguards. Amid the turmoil and distress, police and members of the press squirmed anxiously as faithful followers of both Malcolm X and the Hon. Elijah Muhammad crowded about. Sutton and Malcolm X were militarily funneled into waiting cars and whisked away, leaving television crews behind.

Shaken by the ordeal, Sutton caught his breath as he was pressed onto the front seat of a black Cadillac, while Malcolm X was seated comfortably on the rear seat. Inside the car sat four dark figures with bulging topcoats. Too nervous to look any of the men in the face during the drive back to his office, Sutton sat frozen with his briefcase in his lap, his thoughts and pulse running wildly. Malcolm X, on the other hand, seemed unaffected by the day's activities.

In disbelief, Sutton loosened his tie, slowly turned around and quizzed, ''Mr. Minister, doesn't this disturb you?''

"Doesn't what disturb me?" Malcolm X asked.

"You know, all of the guns and bodyguards, and stuff," Sutton answered.

"To be truthful, it does," he said. "But it really makes those around me feel comfortable. My own philosophy on such matters comes from a story about an old Arab slave named Omar, who was afraid of dying." Malcom X told the following story:

One day Omar said to his master, "Master, oh master, give me your fastest horse. I've seen the face of death and I know it's coming. I've seen it in my dreams. Let me ride in order that I might escape it and survive."

Concerned about the slave, his master begrudgingly complied and gave him his fastest charger. Unwittingly, the poor man had reasoned that if he could ride all day and night, he could live to see yet another day. So, Omar mounted the horse and rode. He rode the first day, and he rode the second day without stopping for so much as food or drink. Finally, just before sunset on the third day and at the point of exhaustion, the slave stopped. The road he had traveled had suddenly divided into seven trails, from which he had to choose.

Hoping to choose wisely, Omar chose the center path. After a few hours ride, he thought poorly of his decision and switched to the trail on his right. From there he progressed for a few hours more, but again pulled his horse up short and switched to the road on his left. This wavering continued until he had rode six trails. Now, in a last ditch effort, the slave embarked on the final path. Less than one hundred yards in the center of the road, standing boldly, was the face of death. Glaring straight ahead, Death cried out, "Omar, where have you been? For three days I've waited for you. What has taken you so long?"

"You see, counselor," Minister Malcolm interrupted, "the moral to the story is this: You can twist and you can turn. You can waste what little precious time you have on this planet. But it won't do you any good. Death is something that we cannot escape. You cannot leave this earth alive, so there's no use in worrying about death."

"Each of us should make the most of our lives." he continued. "We should give life our best--let us use our lives more wisely to chase our dreams and to be as happy and successful as possible."

High achievers live by words like those of Malcolm X, words that wipe out disappointment and embolden the heart for future conquest, words that encourage and motivate as well as direct those whose lives were once misled. Sutton took the words above to heart, and set the cadence for his race. When I asked him what pursuing the dream meant, I found his definition instructive: ''It means daring to reach, to climb, to crawl, to scratch, to get back up when you've been knocked down, to push forward--ever forward--to forgive. It means sacrificing everything, if necessary, to carve out a place for your own existence. It means living.''

When Sutton shared this story with me, I paused. Even after reading the dozens of books on Malcolm X, the fiery orator, the ''by any means necessary'' Black nationalist, I had never pictured him this way. Imagine his words:

''We should give life our best--let us use our lives more wisely to chase our dreams, and be as happy and successful as possible.'' It boggled my mind. After our interview, I returned to my study and re-familiarized myself with the many works on the Muslim leader. Within a few hours I stopped browsing. I felt betrayed, as if I didn't have the complete story of a man who, in my youth, I had studied in earnest. I also felt sorry for the thousands of Blacks who have held a one-sided view of this giant, those who had latched onto every word--both good and bad--that has been attached to him. Not once did I see a single quote or a pithy comment that remotely connected Malcolm X to the endearing qualities of success. I recall fighting back the urge to ask Sutton, ''Did Malcolm X really say that?''

A visionary is, by definition, someone who pursues his or her dreams. He or she attempts things that other people simply would not. Their cast iron conviction is what makes one person's unacceptable risk another person's unavoidable destiny. To paraphrase Challenger astronaut and physicist Ron McNair, it's man's nature to explore the unknown.

At one time or another, many of us have entertained exploiting our potential, or at least exploring something of considerable interest: starting a business, landing that dream job, additional education, a fresh approach to an old routine, or simply uncovering a new means of applying existing resources. However big or small, these exploitation's and explorations are fundamental to the central proposition: What separates those who have only the potential to succeed from those who actually do? By now, the answer should be quite evident.

After Percy Sutton shared with me this moving parable, I thought now was a good time to ask him what is success?

''Success is akin to happiness," Sutton points out. ''Most people search all their lives for success but never find it. Why? Because it lies within. Success is that rare gem that must be mined out through the inner resources. This mining out is one of life's toughest challenges."

During my scores of interviews with many of Black America's most successful people, here's what they had to say about success:

Defining Success

Terrie Williams, founder of the PR firm that bears her name, thinks of success the same as Sutton. ''Success goes beyond the dollar sign,'' she says. ''It encompasses the total package: inner harmony, comfort, and emotional well being. I deal with a lot of people whom society would label "successful" -- those who have all the material trappings. In a few cases, I wouldn't be so quick to agree. While chasing the brass ring, they have allowed joy and happiness to slip through their very hands.''

Joshua Smith, CEO of the Maxima Corp., told me that true success lies somewhere between personal development and economic freedom. ''Personal growth and independence seem to be natural,'' he said. ''It's man's nature to desire more of what life offers. But it is also man's responsibility to develop himself to his fullest, so that he earns the right to life's best.''

George Smith, a Black man with a 3rd grade education, who from a standing start in the oil fields of east Texas, built a personal fortune in the millions, offers a slight variation on what those already quoted think success is: ''Some of the most successful people, and the happiest I might add, are those doing something that they know to be important or personally pleasing, rather than something that allows them to make a lot of money. Doing something that you enjoy is a key component of success.''

J. Bruce Llewellyn, one of Black America's wealthiest and holder of three businesses that rank among the BLACK ENTERPRISE 100s, seemed clearly annoyed that, even in the 1990s, Black America is still trying to navigate the convoluted waters of success. ''Failure is not an overnight experience, and neither is success. Both occur over time and are rarely perceptible to the untrained eye. There is no short road to success. It emanates from long, hard years of concentrated effort, from going the extra mile and doing what others will rarely do. Succeeding is tough. It's nerve wracking, gut-wrenching, and pain inducing. However, there's an old saying, "Hard work doesn't guarantee you anything, but without it you don't stand a chance."

When asked if he considered himself successful, Llewellyn didn't hesitate to answer: ''Actually, I'm somewhere in the process. In many respects, I enjoy a lifestyle that few have experienced. But that doesn't mean that others can't or won't. It's all a matter of will, determination, and seizing opportunities. You can't leave success to chance. You must act to acquire it with a vengeance and to pursue it with a passion."

George Fraser, best selling author of Success Runs in Our Race, took a page from the motivational writer Earl Nightingale. ''Success,'' Fraser says, ''is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal. The happiest and most contented people are those in pursuit of their dreams or ideals.'' Fraser discovered this definition and its meaning firsthand, once he left an $85,000 a year post with the United Way in Cleveland to chase brighter rainbows.

Ebony's John H. Johnson seemed to say it all. He told me that success is something you never attain. And who would know better than he? Johnson has a real feel for the combat that entrepreneurship requires. Not only has he survived many bitterly contested wars, but his life is an example that to the victor goes the spoils.

''Success is not a destination; it's an ongoing process, and you should enjoy every step and detail along the way,'' says Johnson. ''I approach each business day as if it were my last, always looking to consolidate my strengths and shore up my weaknesses. I've never been one to rest on my laurels. I think when you start to do that, you automatically relinquish any hope of accomplishments."

Ernesta Procope, CEO of Wall Street's E.G. Bowman Company, replied in rather traditional, objective terms: ''Continuous hard work. Stubborn determination. Faith.''

''Is that all?" I asked.

''There are other factors," she replied, ''but those who succeed, for the most part, do not deviate from this formula. These are the three main qualities that have served me well throughout my career."

Herman J. Russell, CEO of H.J. Russell & Co. in Atlanta, agrees. ''Success," he says, ''comes not from doing the impossible, but from doing the possible everyday. We only need to succeed with single acts every day, each day, to have a successful life. It's a long, slow grind.''

After years of research and exhausting interviews into the subject, I have come to know what success is and isn't. Accordingly, success is:

• An attitude and a matter of choice. It is available to all who will take charge of the direction of their lives. The path to success leads through service.

• Success is the process of learning and growing. It requires that the individual step out of line, away from the pack, and march to the beat of a different, sometimes distant, drummer. Success is knowing yourself and what you want.

• Success is born by the pursuit of a goal or an ideal which will benefit others as easily as the dreamer. Success cannot be conferred upon others. Success can only be earned through individual initiative.

• Succeeding means risk taking, courage, faith and commitment. Frederick Douglass was correct: success is born of struggle.

• Success demands the use of whatever abilities and talents are available. It decays on the 40 hour work week. It is derived from labors of love. The achiever will be most successful doing what he or she truly enjoys.

• Some indicators of success come from the desire to leave behind some great work that will survive or endure--in other words, permanence.