Is the measure of success the accomplishment, the outcome, a journey, the end result, or a series of purposeful endeavors?
Winston Churchill once said that "Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm". Could this be what life is all about? Or is it Deepak Chopra's words, "Success in life could be defined as the continued expansion of happiness and the progressive realization of worthy goals", that describe it?
Two very different people linking failure, enthusiasm, happiness and goals to one word – success.
What is Success?
While there are a lot of inspired, enthusiastic, progressive people out there in the universe, not all of them set themselves goals, nor do they get off their proverbial behinds and actively do something to achieve success.
In reality, not everyone looks at the end result as being defined by worthy goals or happiness.
But then when you think about what success really is, you'd ask yourself: "How is success rated? Whose scale should we follow to measure success? What is failure?"
Measuring Success
My life has been a series of ups and downs. There were some very high moments and some extremely low ones. Through the years in the mists of time, I have come to accept that success is not just one defined reality but a series of steps and stumbles.
I once believed that my life was about serving others. It lasted for many years and I have to say that, in many instances, I did well. But in the end, there was a gulf in between what I did and what I, as an individual, actually needed. Then one day, I woke up and saw that success was not what other people believed I did or was capable of. Success was what I believed I could do or was capable of.
So I stepped back and taking a deep breath jumped at the chance to be successful in my own eyes.
My Mantra for Success
I fully believe that I can do whatever I want to with one big proviso -- a condition that I should never go out of my way to hurt another person in the pursuit of my own success.
I believe that if by actively striving for whatever the particular success that I may be striving for does not hurt another, then I am well on the road to achieving it.
Life's Journey
One thing that I have always told my eldest daughter (and soon, my youngest, at the right age) is the belief that they can do anything, and I do mean anything, they set their minds into. In telling my daughters this, I have tried to show them as well. I have done many things, and through my life's journey, I have found that success was not always in actually achieving a positive outcome but in the journey of doing what needs to be done. I believe that the doing is sometimes of more importance than the ultimate end.
The achieving 'IS' the doing; the reward 'IS HAVING TRIED'. Not everything that I have done has achieved a positive reward, but what I have achieved is the fact that I can say, "I did it", rather than saying, "Oh, I might try that one day". It's the getting up off my lazy as* that has (in most cases) made the difference.
The Lessons I Learned
What all of this has taught me is that if I can do it then anyone can. I also better understand that different people (and that also goes for organizations) may have differing sets of values for success. The trick is to aline one's self with the people or groups that best reflect my own core values and beliefs.
Probably the biggest lesson I learned has been the fact that I now believe that I am a tryer, rather, a person that tries. At the end of the day, that is all that really matters - 'I tried'. In the trying, I have succeeded. In the doing, I have risen and set forth on my journey.
It's whether I take the long dusty road or the smooth shorter tarred one, what matters is that success is in the journey and in my own mind I have succeeded. As many people would know, success is relative. Just getting up each morning is already success in itself. Working with people in a field of knowledge that I enjoy also is success, and knowing that I am an influential part of their lives is sublime.
Like what Thomas Edison has once said, "Success is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration". He, like I do now, understood the value and wisdom in getting up and in doing, which is the real secret to success.
P. S. I just bumped into these cute characters from one of my daughter's go-to webpages.
What is success for you? Care to share?
Thank you for reading!
