What Is Success?

The important thing to remember about success is that you, and only you, can define what it means. Of course, society, friends, family, nosey neighbors and probably even your cat have their idea of what success is for you.  But do not let anyone take that right from you, only you have the right to define success for yourself. Take a moment and think about what success means for you.

“Success isn’t necessarily how much money have. Success is setting a goal and being able to wake up every morning feeling really good about what you’ve accomplished.”
Mark Cuban

Ok, so I know what you’re thinking, “Yep, if I was a billionaire like Mark Cuban, then feeling really good about what I’ve accomplished is a success.” But if you aren’t a billionaire, a millionaire, or even making a good living, what does success mean? The answer to that will change as your life changes. Think back to when you graduated high school, success for you may have been getting married, having kids, a job you enjoyed, and having enough money to live comfortably. Or perhaps it was to go on to college, get your degree and get a high-paying job so you can live the lifestyle you have imagined. No matter what your definition was back then, hasn’t it changed? Think about what has changed, what is missing from that definition of success earlier in your life?

The older I get the more the definition changes. It used to be having a beach house, a house on Tahoe, lots of sales, lots of money, new cars, a big house, and of course two or three boats. (As I have tried to explain to my wife, you need a different boat for different fish. I.e.: Bass Boat, Ocean Boat, River Boat.)

Sometimes it takes a jolt in your life to change that definition.  For me, it was my friend Tony’s diagnosis of terminal brain cancer back in 2016. Prior to this, I was chasing my definition of success 12 hours a day,  7 days a week. I thought that if I work hard enough, I would be able to get to my definition of success! The problem was that no matter how hard I worked, how many items I checked off of the list of success, I still wanted more!

You see, the definition changes on both sides of success. The more that you achieve, the more you want, and thus you keep pushing success down the road by adding to your definition. If you continue to do this, YOU WILL NEVER REACH SUCCESS! Once I realized this, it was an “aha” moment for me and I realized that for me to truly be successful, I must start by being grateful for what I currently have. I realized that I not only already had enough, I had more than enough!

This changed everything for me. I no longer needed, or wanted to work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. My definition of success changed to having the freedom to spend time with the people I love and doing the things I love to do. That change in definition changed my life, and my business, for the better. Yep, I still want those three boats, and I’m sure I’ll get them someday, but if not, it doesn’t make me any less successful.

I’ll ask the same question I began this blog with, What is your definition of success? Has the answer changed?