By Evan Vitale
No matter what we do in life – college, a career, family or owning a business – we want to be successful.
However, that’s the $64,000 question!
How do you measure “success” and what does it mean to be truly successful?
Of course, as we strive to achieve goals, earn high marks in education or generate a profit every year with our business, we certainly don’t want to be considered a failure or be associated with a failed venture. To reach success, many hours are spent and it takes a lot of hard work. Unfortunately, many people never reach the success they desire.
Ask 10 different people what they consider to be the meaning or definition of success and you’ll likely receive 10 different answers and opinions.
Most will say that success can be measured by reaching a goal. It’s something that you can see and feel, such as being named to the Dean’s List at college or earning a monthly sales award from your company.
As far as business is concerted, the term “success” is usually tied to sales figures, net profit, business expansion or the sale of your business prior to retirement.
Regardless, at times, we tend to place too much emphasis on reaching success which can cause problems down the road. We either fail to reach our goal in a preset time period – and we consider ourselves to be a failure – or we suffer a “letdown” after we have reach our success plateau and wonder “what’s next?” in setting future goals.
Instead of trying to define and measure success, you’ll be happier in setting personal and professional goals in all aspects of your life.
Set short-term and long-term goals. Create a step-by-step plan on how to better pursue and reach your goals. Then, celebrate your success!