What is success really, what might this mean for us as individuals?
How much does society’s judgement of success impact your ability to gauge and appreciate your own success?
What is success really, what might this mean for us as individuals and what might it look like.
The word “success” has its origins in the mid-16th century and comes from the Latin word, “successus,” from the verb “succedere,” which means “come close after.” Think of “succeeding” to the throne or “succession.”
The Oxford Dictionary defines success as: “The accomplishment of an aim or purpose.” Based on this definition, success is not bound to wealth, favour, or eminence… it is simply accomplishing what you aim for.
According to this definition, your success is different than your friend’s, your neighbour’s, and your brother’s. What defines “success” for you is wholly dependent on the goals you have set for yourself.
However, it is important to remember that all goals are not made equally. A perfectly achievable goal for one person may simply be unreasonable for another, or vice versa. For example, some entrepreneurs want to bring in 6 or 7 figures annually, while others want only to meet their basic needs like rent, daily living etc
Most of us at root are unsure of what success is to us, unsure of whether we want it, unsure about whether we deserve it.
We tend to measure success in terms of material wealth, influence, and status. Yes, the world looks at wealthy, influential people with high status and calls them successful.
To be a true success, we need to adopt a definition that is more intrinsic, more internal, and more eternal—a definition that is designed to support our faithful pursuit of why we are here.
Defining success in this way allows us to measure our clarity, commitment, and consistency in pursuing our life’s work as the end and the means—not some goal that someone else has set for us.
True vocational courage does not come from following someone else’s definition of success, nor from having others define success for us.
It’s not about trying to achieve the kind of success that your parents pressured you to achieve because they couldn’t achieve it themselves.
And it’s not about trying to achieve the kind of success that your boss defines for you at work, or your spouse/partner, friends, and other influencers define for you in your daily life outside the office.
It’s about knowing your own values and then allowing those values to guide what success means to you for you—and you only. It’s about being willing to honestly explore and answer the question “How do you keep score in life?”
Please let me know your thoughts on this subject. It will be great to hear from you.
Robert Ikwue is an entrepreneur, founder and CEO @ The Quintrix Group.
