If success seems to be always out of reach, being clear on your personal definition of success has proven to be the key ingredient. It is like the glue that holds all other tools in your personal development toolkit together. Here’s how you unlock your potential and start enjoying this incredible yet challenging journey that you’re on.
We really must ask this question: what is your idea of success?
This is personal. While many may inspire or motivate you to get some things done, the ultimate decider of your future is simply YOU. It’s your own definition of success. This is about you and your aspirations. Not mine. Not Tony Robbins. Not Bill Gates. Not Jay-Z, etc. We must spend the necessary time to become crystal clear on what success looks like to us. Trying to be like others pulls you away from what’s most important to you.
Our personal definition of success must include our own unique challenges and circumstances. We each have barriers from our internal and external world that we must deal with and overcome in order to achieve our own definition of success.
How to Define success in your own words
As simple as it may seem, our quest for success begins and ends with one word - Values.
The things that we value determine how we will act, what types of things will put us into action and for how long we will stay that course of action. We cannot define success without focusing on our values. Once again, gaining clarity in this area is of great importance.
What is a good definition of success?
A good definition of success must stem from your values as we just alluded to. Just like when you set out to change your life with goal setting, we want to look at all of the key Areas of Life:
1. Personal Relationships (Family, romance, friends, etc.)
2. Financial/Business
3. Health/Wellness
4. Spiritual
5. Personal Growth
6. Do You - Fun and Recreation
Your personal definition of success must include a balance across each of these 6 key areas. I suggest that you pretend that you could waive a magic wand and make all of your dreams come true. This isn’t about what you today believe is possible, but more-so, this is about what you’d like to happen. We’re not talking about necessarily a one year definition of success, but rather, we’re looking further out into the future, 5-10 years or more.
Peronal Relationships - What would success look like for all of your close personal and familial relationships? How would you interact with your spouse, partner and children? How much time would you be spending together and doing what? You can further extend that to your friends and even acquaintances. People are always first and foremost (or at least they should be) when we discuss personal success. We also need to be aware of what habits we need to build in order to reach each level of success in these key areas. Does this require any specific routines?
Finance/Business - What would your personal income be like in your 5 year fantasy? What position or status will you have achieved at work or within your field? If you’re a business owner, how will you have impacted your customers, employees and industry? You can track dollars and market share easily. It becomes more difficult to quantify your impact on humans, yet this impact is often a predecessor of huge profits and business growth.
Health/Wellness - How do you see yourself looking and feeling physically within the future? How’s your mental and emotional health? How much do you weigh, how often are you exercising?
Spiritual - For many people, their spirituality and religious beliefs are central to their very being. As such we need to envision ourselves being successful in these areas as well. How will we be changed because of these beliefs? What kind of person will we be? Who will we be impacting? How often will I pray or meditate?
Personal Growth - This one is HUGE. What kind of person will you be in the future? Then we must ask, what habits will I need in order to enjoy and reach success in all of my key areas? Each of us must be crystal clear on exactly “Whom” we must become in order to execute on our Personal Vision for our lives, our personal success if you will. What books will you have read? What courses will you have taken? Will this require degrees or certifications? What skills will I need and how/when will I acquire them? Answering these questions gets to the core of one’s ability to achieve the personal definition of success.
Do You: Fun & Recreation - It’s imperative to take time out for self. We must be intentional about taking the time to relax, have fun and reflect on our progress and setbacks. What fun and recreational activities will you be doing as a part of your 5 year fantasy? Are there any fun skills that you will have learned? There are no limits here so please, let the kid come back out. Stretch yourself a bit. Be ok with intentional jubilance! You work hard. You sacrifice. You deserve a break and to have some time to yourself.
So how can you define your own success?
Success = Freedom & Free From (what & who)
I believe that success in many ways consists of the Freedoms that comes with being daring and disciplined enough to write down what you want and to have a plan for how to achieve it. You have freedom to spend quality time with those that matter most. You are free to take vacations or travel. The list of what you could do is likely endless and once again, depends upon your values.
Success also equals “Free From”. You are free from stresses and stressors. You are free from worrying about the financial security of yourself and loved ones. You are also free from many of the people in your life that are not in alignment with you. Beware and shun at all costs these dream crushers and non-believers. They are energy drainers and take away a vital part of your gift to your family and community.
So what is a good definition of success?
It’s whatever works for you. It’s everything that you desire and are willing to work for. It includes the people that are worth serving and motivate you to move forward, despite the trials included. Success stems from values. Success rests solely on you, though it may be assisted by the help of others.
I must reinforce this one more time. Your Personal Defintion of Success should reflect your values. Be clear on what they are. Over time, you will act consistently with your values, for better or worse.
Pick one (or more) area of life and tell me what is your personal definition of success? How will you know it when you’ve achieved it?
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Yours in Service, Dale Myers
