What does Success mean to you?

This website is dedicated to helping you be the best you can be. To inspire you to reach your potential for success. But how do you define success?

Each person I have met thinks of success in their own unique way. For some, having a great family life is success, for others having material possessions is what makes them feel successful. I will let you tell me what you think of success at the comments section at the end of this article. But in the mean time, let me define what success means to me.

Success, in my opinion, is reaching your goals in the following areas of life (in no particular order):

1. Physical Health and Wellness
2. Work
3. Financial Freedom
4. Home & Family
5. Mental
6. Social & Relationships
7. Spiritual
8. Character
9. Contribution
10. Fun & Entertainment

1. Physical Health and Wellness

You should aim to understand what healthy living is and aspire to improve your health through exercise and eating right. Success in the area of health and fitness will affect the level of success you enjoy in other areas of life, so take it seriously.

2 .Work – Jobs & Careers.

We live in a capitalist society. You will thrive by being a good cog to the capitalist machine. What does your job entail? What is your line of work? Reaching the apex of your profession will come with the benefits of better remuneration and a greater sense of achievement.

Understand what it takes to be successful in your field and be willing to pay the price. Do not settle for less. I define success in this area as finding a job that is satisfying and is a good match to your talents, motivation, experience and pays well.

3. Financial Freedom

Your definition of financial freedom might be different from mine. Financial freedom in my opinion is having enough money to sustain your ideal lifestyle without having to ever work again.

Financial freedom will take away your fears and worries (no more tough bills), and give you the freedom to use your time (finite resource) in the way you see best.

Imagine being able to set your own hours, travel the world on your own schedule, make generous contributions to needy causes without flinching? Financial freedom will do a lot to your self worth and sense of accomplishment.

Set what you think is a reasonable financial goal for you and have a plan to achieve it. You will love yourself a bit more if you achieve your financial goals. Trust me on that one.

4. Home & Family

Charity begins at home. Aspire to have a comfortable place and people you can come home to. It may be a tough world out there, but if you have your own place of relaxation, with loving people you call family, then life will not only be bearable but worth living.

Some people ignore their home life and families in their quest for success. Don’t be tempted to take that route. Family matters.

5. Mental – Positive Thinking, State of Mind, New Ideas, Clarity of Purpose etc

Success is also about having the right mental attitude. You can set goals to do with how you think of the world, how you think of yourself etc.

Below are some mental areas that you can set and achieve goals in:

• Self Confidence
• Self Esteem
• Motivation
• Diligence
• Clarity of Purpose
• Team Work / Team Player
• Consistency
• Productivity
• Time Management
• Intelligence
• Problem Solving
• and many more…..

6. Social & Relationships – Marriage, Dating, Friendships & Networking

You can also set and achieve goals in the area of how you relate with other people. What kind of marriage partner or marriage do you want to have? What kind of person or people do you want to date?

Who are your friends? You can set goals on what kind of people you want to attract to your life. You can then participate in activities or make changes in your life to attract that kind of people.

7. Spiritual – Religious Views

What kind of spiritual life do you want to lead? Do you want to go to church (or your religious place of worship) and interact with other like minded people on a regular basis?

What kind of spiritual nourishment do you consider ideal? Set spiritual goals and achieve them.

8. Character – Integrity, Honor, Self Discipline, Courage etc

This is the area of lasting success that is unfortunately ignored by many who aspire to be successful. Setting and reaching character goals will make you a better person. Character is who you are when nobody is looking. Are you a man or woman of honor? of integrity? are you honest? Are you self disciplined?

9. Contribution – Making a difference, giving something of value.

To be truly successful, you must move from the position of asking what the world owes you. As my friend JFK used to say “Ask not, what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”

Focus on making a difference in the world around you. Give something of value in your life. Use your talents and position to do good.

10. Fun & Entertainment e.g Travel, Relaxation, Freedom.

My favorite. To be successful you need to have fun. Whether you are exercising to keep fit or donating to your favorite charity, you need to be thoroughly enjoying yourself.

Don’t postpone fun and entertainment to the day after you make it. Have fun along the way. Live each day courageously. Entertain yourself thoroughly.

Taking time to reflect, relax and counting your blessings is a great way of enjoying your success. Some people are so deep into following their dreams that they become slaves to those dreams. Be practical in your quest for success. Don’t punish yourself.

Summary

This article was intended to set the stage for the articles that will form the basis of this blog. This blog is about thinking success, planning success, tracking success and enjoying success. Before we can do that we need to be clear what success means to each of us. Please post in the comments form below.

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