The Meaning of Success

Society has told us that success is all about money. But the truth is, that’s just a tiny part of it – and not even the essential part. Success is about having a life you love living – dreams you are passionate about and hopes to make into reality. It’s who you become on this journey called life, not what society says it should be. And I don’t know anyone who wants to live a mediocre life for their remaining lifetime.

I know for a fact that the only person who truly, unconditionally loves a person for who they are, is that person themselves.

And if you want to have a path that will bring you success all your life, you need to be true to yourself. You need to follow your heart, not society’s rules. The ones who do this are consistently successful in their lives and careers – and that’s what I want for you. That’s what I’m offering in this article. It’s a way to live your life that will bring you both freedom and success, but only you can decide what kind of life you want.

Success usually means having money to live comfortably, so of course, you want money – and being successful also means being financially stable.

But society also has a way of telling us what’s important. They have certain words and phrases that trigger our ‘feelings.’ These are words that either make us happy or sad, angry or pleased… And the majority of these ‘feelings’ stem from societal programming and conditioning.

For example, when someone says “money,” we are immediately reminded of how important money is to us, how it makes us feel happy or sad. It triggers a feeling that we need to have more of it – to live a ‘successful life.’

But the more I started following my heart and finding ideas that connected with me – and the more I studied success as an idea, not just a concept in society’s mind – I realized that it had little to do with money.

When we compare ourselves to others, we tend to forget what’s important in life. We look at the number on a paycheck, not the ideas and values behind it. We fail to see that what matters is how our hearts feel and how much we enjoy the process of getting there. It’s a feeling inside – knowing you’re doing something you love and are great at.

It means living your life by your own rules, not society’s. It means becoming a person you would love to be, and others would love to be around.

This is what leads to happiness – not money. This is what will bring you success – not a piece of paper saying you have a high-paying job.

And this is what I’m going to focus on in this article. I want to dive into the meaning of success and show you how it relates to your life and career.

Why is it important to be successful in your own eyes?

Imagine your life having money. But also a lot of time and energy for your passions. It means you can do whatever you want with your days – spend those days at work doing what you love, or spending those days building the life you want for yourself, week by week.

It means having freedom over all the decisions in your life. It means having a sense of purpose that is not dictated to you by society’s standards and rules.

And this is what I see as genuinely successful. It has the skills, mindset, and habits that will eventually lead you towards something you love doing in life.

If you don’t have this, if you don’t have these behaviors of a fulfilled life, every day could feel like a struggle to get by. This means not having enough time for your passions and interests – or worse, not being able to make a living just doing what you love.

And many people are stuck like this. But we can change that.

You don’t have to be one of them. You can choose to live a life on your terms – and I’ll show you how.

How to be successful in your own eyes?

1. Set real goals for your life and career, not society’s goals

One of the biggest reasons people feel like they have a lack of success is their following goals that others have set – mainly societal programming. They have a ‘dream’ in their minds, but that dream is dictated by what is right for them – their personality, interests, and passion.

For example, you might have a dream of being a doctor, lawyer, or professor. This is fine. But does it truly fulfill you? Does it connect with your needs, personality, and values? Or is it just something your parents or society told you to do?

Societal programming gets into our heads early on in life – and depending on our environment growing up, we tend to adopt various ‘goals’ for ourselves. This can be limiting our potential for happiness.

The way we set goals affects the way we live. They say a goal is a dream with a deadline – and setting goals for yourself allows you to reach your dreams faster.

But some goals aren’t attainable in your current state because you don’t have the skills or knowledge to get there. And they might not even be what truly inspires and fulfills you. The goal can feel meaningless and lead to long hours and stressful situations if you do it for the wrong reasons.

So when setting goals, it’s essential to make sure they’re not just society’s standards and ideas about suitable or beneficial for you. Instead, aim for goals that are going to help you emotionally, mentally, and physically.

You want to focus on goals that will empower you in all areas of your life. And that will allow you to progress towards your true priorities.

2. Start small, but don’t limit yourself

Most people try to set too many goals at once, and they don’t even realize it. They believe they can do anything if they set their minds to it – that there is no limitation inside them. But there are millions of things that can prevent you from fulfilling your goals.

Often our goals are based on other people’s standards and their ideas of what is ‘right.’ So many people try to do too much at once – and it ends up being a drain on their energy. Follow your own rules. Set small, attainable goals that are going to help you progress towards your true priorities.

3. Ask yourself these questions before you set goals

Step 1

Sit down in a quiet room and take some time to relax, maybe light some candles and sit by the window. Close your eyes and breathe deeply for a couple of minutes. Ask yourself these four questions:

What do I want? What is stopping me from getting it? What will it take to achieve it? What has held me back in the past?

Then, write everything you can think of or feel about your answers on a piece of paper.

Step 2

Now open your eyes and look at the questions you’ve written down. Think about the answers some more. Have any patterns or commonalities emerged? Is there a theme present in any of your answers? Write this down too?

Step 3

Take a few minutes to contemplate your answers. Think about what they all mean to you and how they are related to each other. Write down anything that your mind is bringing up.

Step 4

Now walk yourself through the process again. Walk yourself through the process two more times, asking yourself what you want, why you want it, and what it would take to achieve it. By doing this, you will be able to develop a plan based on your answers, not only in regards to your goals but also how they relate to other areas of life. This will make things easier for you in the long run. It will also make it much easier to identify the types of things that you need to avoid.

Once you have your list of goals, priorities, and areas in life that are important to you, develop a plan to achieve those goals. This should include the steps that you will take to achieve the goals and what steps you can take to create good habits (see below). You need to break this down into smaller tasks so that they are easier for you to do. Keep in mind your priorities and how they relate to your goals, and use that to ensure you’re working on the right things.

4. Develop good habits

People often ask me, “what is character?”. This is a question that has no simple answer because it is made up of many different things. It’s a combination of all the smaller actions that we take and decisions we make every day.

Often those little things that we do can make or break a significant goal in our lives. They determine whether we make progress towards that goal or whether we stay stuck. Our daily actions influence how much freedom and success we have in our lives and careers, and this is one of the various reasons you should be focusing on creating good habits.

There are three key areas where good habits are useful: a) Work Environment, b) Time Management, and c) Life Planning.

a)  Work Environment

Good habits can help your work environment by keeping you on task. You’ll find it easier to get through the day without distractions, and you will be more productive when doing your work. Some people are very good at getting through the day while still being productive – but they don’t develop habits for doing so. They find ways to get done what they need to do, which is fine. But they don’t go out of their way to create good habits, which makes it very hard for them to be as productive as possible.

A good habit is one that you can do every day without thinking twice about it. It’s something that you generally do without having to think about it. For example, when you wake up, is the first thing you do checking your phone? Is it checking your social media accounts? Or is it taking a shower? If so, that’s a good habit, and it will help you be more productive in other areas of your life.

Good habits are also helpful when interviewing for jobs. Having good habits shows employers that you are a hard worker. It shows them that you can do something consistently and follow through on your promises. This is a valuable skill to have. It’s why it’s so important to create good habits – both at work and in your life.

b) Time Management

Good habits also help you manage your time well and prioritize what’s important. They can help you get through the day without distractions, and they can help you do your work faster and more efficiently. This gives you more time for other parts of your life that are important to you or even helps develop other good habits.

c) Life Planning

Good habits make it easier for you to plan your life. They allow you to make progress on the things that are important to you. For example, if your goal is to write a book by a specific date, having good habits will help you be prepared for that date. You’ll be more productive at work to have more time on your hands, and it will be easier to set aside time and energy for the book. And this will give more clarity and motivation when working on the book itself. It will help you get to your goal.

Good habits can also help you plan your life and decide what life areas are essential to you. For example, if you want to be healthy but don’t have any good habits, it will be hard for you to stay on track towards that goal. But if you have good habits that help keep you disciplined and on track with the goal, it will be much easier for you to reach it.

You need to walk yourself through the process of asking yourself what you want, why you want it, and what it would take to achieve it. Create a plan that will help you make progress towards your goals daily. Use what you know about yourself and how your mind works to make the most out of your habits and time.

What does success mean to you?

Whatever success means for me, it doesn’t have anything to do with money (and in my experience, this is true for many people).

I have met many people who strive for money and status, believing that those things will bring them happiness. But in reality, they might be miserable and unhappy because they lack the balance and freedom to make choices that matter to them.

We all have the opportunity to be successful in our own eyes – we need to know what success means for us. It would be best if you had a plan and the ability to communicate it to others so that they can help you.

It would be best if you focused on true priorities, and you also need to create good habits that will help you become successful. You can’t just start thinking about your goals – but instead, start working on the things that will help you reach those goals faster. This is how we get real success in our lives.

What does success mean to you? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.