Defining Success
Here we are, almost into the 4th quarter and it’s a good time to take stock of where we are in relation to where we thought we’d be when we set our goals for this year. So. how are you doing? Will you be successful? Will you make your numbers?
Does being successful mean you’ve met your financial goals? If you don’t meet your financial goals, will you feel less successful? That depends on how you define success.
Everyone defines it through their own perspective, so I can’t speak for you. To my eyes defining success by numbers is an oxymoron – one has little to do with the other.
Granted, in my early years as a business coach, I remember how exhilarating it was to actually make a profit from my own business, after spending the bulk of my career in the corporate world. In a sense, it was validation that I could make it on my own. But after a while, the kick wore off, and I realized that it wasn’t the dollars that kept me in the game, but the deep gratification I felt helping others achieve the same sense of satisfaction I had owning my own business.
While making money is a good thing and as a businessman I understand that numbers are seemingly the most important facet of business, I can assure you that the companies that lose the most are those who rely strictly on balance sheets.
The best things In life aren’t always free, but at the same time studies have shown that once you reach the $75,000 mark, money does seem to lose importance, and it certainly is no reflection of either success or happiness.
So it comes down to how you measure it. Success is fickle. Just because you’re successful once, doesn’t mean you’ll be successful in the future. That’s why we can’t measure success against outcomes.
You can be an abject failure, and yet feel like the happiest and most successful person in the world. But you can also be a financial success and feel empty inside. What does it mean?
Success is all about the process. While there are no magic bullets, no secret formulas and by no means any guarantees, I can assure you that once you stop focusing on bottom lines and outcomes, and turn your attention to how you can help others, success will happen. Once you stop futurizing about that next big account or that golden opportunity that’s just around the corner and shift your focus to the here and now, regardless of how you define it, success will find you. You’ll be happy, and, you’ll make a profit too.
“Successful people make money. It’s not that people who make money become successful, but that successful people attract money. They bring success to what they do.”
– Wayne Dyer