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What is Success?
by Carly Anderson, MCC
How often have you heard people
say "I'll know I'm successful when I have a certain
amount of money in the bank, such as a million dollars"?
If this was truly their goal, then a financial planner
or banker will be able to give them the formula. It's
possible for everyone, based on saving a few dollars
a day and reinvesting the interest. In approximately
thirty years time, the law of compounding and regular
savings will give you a bank balance of $1million dollars.
Start at age twenty and by fifty years of age you will
have achieved this.
So
the question is, what is it you REALLY want?
What is your definition of success? This is a complex
question, and one that needs to be worked through if
life is going to be a happy and fulfilling experience.
Businesses usually measure success
based on profitability or return to shareholders. There
are flaws with using these as measures, independent
of other measures. Social, environmental and community
responsibilities are also important yardsticks of success.
While businesses need to primarily focus on profitability,
all are important factors in creating a successful and
sustainable business.
What
measures have you been using? Is a company successful
if it shows a huge profit, yet it's top twenty executives
are divorced, overweight, secretly depressed or yearning
to see their children or beloved?
Defining Success
Most people know what they
don't want; I don't want to be derelict, out on the
streets, unable to support myself financially. I don't
want to work for someone else anymore - I'm sick of
being told what to do. Other people have a long list
of wants; I want to have a nice home by the beach. I
want to travel, I want to own a horse ranch.
What
people are after is the END RESULT of what money will
give them. Money is a means to an end, but most
businesses and individuals make the accumulation of
money their lifelong pursuit. Some discover happiness
along the way, but most people don't.
Here is a statement of success
for your consideration. I'm
successful when I have enough time, space and resources
to do all that I choose, enriching the quality of my
life, of those around me, and the community at large.
I have defined what is enough for me in all aspects
of my life. The Coaching
for Success Programs help you identify what success
means to you.
Achieving is not the same
as Success
What most people refer to as success
is usually about what they've achieved: eating and working
at the right places, driving the right car, living in
the right area, accumulating the right possessions.
It seems that success is mostly
measured by what we have to show for our efforts. Wealth,
position and achievement are one side of the coin. The
other side is through internal measures such as happiness,
fulfillment and contribution.
It is our birthright to be happy
and fulfilled. We have to do nothing to earn these qualities,
yet most people spend their entire lives in the search
for happiness, and usually outside of themselves.
The place to start is by defining
your personal values, and designing activities and choices
that reflect and live those personal values. If relating
with God is a priority, then make sure you have activities
in your life that reflect that value. If you love being
a catalyst for positive change, then find ways to have
that as part of your work, no matter what you're doing.
Get in touch with what's true
for you, and you will find a path that leads to success,
happiness and fulfilment.
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