What Does Success Mean to You?

Many think of one thing when we talk about success.

We all talk about success.

Google results show:

About 3,060,000,000 results for the term: success

Wow. That is a lot of results! We are talking about success often!

Your Meaning of Success may be Different From Mine.

What does this term mean, and how does it apply to our own life? I think many think of money as the only true measure of success. We look to celebrities and musicians or CEOs of companies and think, “That person is a success!” It goes much deeper than that.

It’s meeting our own vision of ourselves and where we want to go. For example, when I was young, I wanted to play guitar. I did what was necessary to learn, and now I can play. I’m not in a band or a successful musician, but it doesn't matter to me.

Your measure of success maybe millions of dollars and legions of fans. My measure of success is that can play what is in my head. I have no desire for fans or anything else. My ability to play allows me to convey my emotions, which makes me happy. I am content with my playing and feel successful. I don't need to measure my success against any of the great players. I play for me!

We Focus so Much on the Money

Many blogs that talk about success tend to focus on money. Many people measure success as to how much cash is in their bank account. I wish that we didn't think that way as we focus so much energy on making that money and not the other aspects of success. I think that financial success is a small part of it. There is so much more to life than only making money.

If our entire goal is being rich, then we may end up being disappointed. We can’t measure success as just being about how much money we have. We tend to obsess over the dollars instead of making ourselves a better person. If we work on that more, the money tends to follow.

There can be success without multiple millions in our bank account.

Having the ability to get up out of bed every day and accomplishing what you need to get done can be as rewarding as more cash in your bank account. It's those small, simple acts of making the day successful that may eventually lead to your financial success.

For me today, my success is finishing the articles I need to get done. I’m not concerned about whatever monetary value they have down the road as I post them on Medium. We want everything NOW (success now!), and that is not possible.

If Your Financially Successful Success May Change for You

I admire people who are financially successful and willing to share their thoughts and experiences and want to help others achieve what they did. They find new “success” in helping others achieve the same dreams that they had. They focus away from the pure money aspect and more on the “helping others” side, which is great to see. We need more people like this in this world.

We all start with nothing in this life and what we do about our situation determines the outcome we are left with.

Success is Your Own Thing

No one that is financially successful would be where they are without putting in the work required to reach that goal. I would never be successful playing guitar if I didn't practice all the time. We will find success by putting in the work and doing what it takes to get there. Success is accomplishing those goals and feeling good about them. The result is what you want it to be, not what someone else thinks you should be.

Do it for you and no one else.

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