Note: This is an adaption of a post I wrote for landlords on onlinetenantapp.com. Here’s a link to the original if you want to see it! http://www.onlinetenantapp.com/defining-success/
What is success?
It depends on who you ask. Is it stepping into a red Ferrari on the way to a six-digit job in a sparkling high rise somewhere?
Is it sending your kids to Ivy League schools and retiring to Switzerland?
Is it making it home in time to eat dinner with your family every night?
I’m not going to say any of these scenarios are right or wrong. The truth is, success can only be defined by one person – you. It’s different for everyone.
All I’m going to say is, I think the world’s sold us a cheap rip-off.
You may never have thought much about what success means in your life, job, or relationships. I would encourage you to. You can’t reach your goals until you’ve made them. Where do you want to be in five years? Ten? What will it take to get there?
I’d also encourage you not to focus on only money or power. There’s more to life than that. In twenty years people will care about how you affected them. They won’t care that you could afford to travel the world straight out of college.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines success as “the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame.”
But I think the dictionary’s a little off, to be perfectly honest with you. According to author Maya Angelou, “success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”
Now I think we’re a little closer.
That’s a broader definition. It isn’t telling us what we should be doing or how we should be doing it.
So what does success look like for you? Is it making it to work on time? Getting accepted into your dream school? Revamping the landscaping? It doesn’t really matter what it is. Big or small, you can only claim it once you’ve named it. Figure out what’s most important to you and get rid of everything that doesn’t match that definition of success.
Life is too short to be toying with time-wasters. Don’t give up because you think it’s “impractical” or it’ll take too long to get there. That’s not what we were given dreams for.
Failure is something we imagine all the time. Success isn’t. So why not give it a try?
XO,
Kenzi
