“Success”
It means so many different things to so many different people. Some see “success” as having a lot of money, some see it as having a great family, some see it as having a job we the can impact others in a positive way, some see it as being a well-respected public figure… There are many different definitions of “success”. A few years ago, I assumed everyone was financially motivated. Now, I’m realising more and more that money isn’t everything. Time and a feeling of freedom are featuring more and more in my personal definition of success.
“Success” is such an abstract, nebulous term that everyone has their own opinion on. As I was reading today, something really stuck out and grabbed my attention. I read every day (you can check out the books I’ve read here), and today, I started re-reading The Richest Man in Babylon in preparation for my podcast this weekend with my mate Adam Jones (check out our What You Will Learn podcast here), this jumped out at me. It wasn’t even in the book itself, it was actually in the foreword! I almost always skip the foreword but this one was only two pages so I read it. This sentence, tucked away in the middle of the page, really resonated with me:
“Success means accomplishments as the result of our own efforts and abilities.”
Efforts and Abilities
Everyone wants to achieve “success”, whatever that may mean to us. Thishis quote says to me that we like to do things right and we like to be rewarded for it. In this sense, we like to put in effort and accomplish things.
If success to you means having lots of money, you will be satisfied when you build a business and sell it for millions of dollars, or you may be satisfied from working and saving for 40 years and seeing a big retirement package at the end. But you won’t be as satisfied if you win the lottery. Whilst winning the lottery may satisfy your “success” in terms of giving you a lot of money, this isn’t a ‘result of our own efforts and abilities’. Perhaps this is why we hear that many lottery winners find themselves in financial trouble a year or two after a big lottery win.
If success to you means having a job in a position of authority, you derive your success form have a positive influence over people. By using ‘your own efforts and abilities’, you build a reputation, get promotions and earn peoples’ trust and respect. Therefore you are able to lead and inspire those around you. But if you were somehow thrust into a managerial position (perhaps you had friends in high places or used some of your other assets to get you there), I don’t think you would have the same feeling of success and you wouldn’t be able to exercise leadership because you wouldn’t have earned trust and respect.
Just a thought that crossed my mind this morning. Tucked away in a foreword I’d normally skip over. Have a think about it…
“Success means accomplishments as the result of our own efforts and abilities.”
