What is success?
It’s a difficult question as there are probably as many answers as there are individuals. Because success
means different things to different people, and we measure success with various tools.
For some, success means doing something they enjoy and love, and being happy; for
others, it means having reached the top of their profession, or earning a six-figure salary,
driving a big expensive car or living in a twelve-bedroom mansion.
Whether we are talking about professional or personal success, criteria for success will
depend on the context, and will be relative to a specific observer or the set of principles
of a given society. But in the general sense, success is the accomplishment of a goal or
set of goals, personal or professional whatever these might be.
You can find many quotes about success; one of my favourites is by Dale Carnegie,
American writer and lecturer,
“Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.”
So, how can you achieve success?
Again, because we have our own definition of success and it means different things to different people, there is not one magic recipe for success and we need to find our own.
I guess we find success by following our own path through life; we fall, then we get up, we fail, then we learn from it, get better and move on. Without falling or failing, we don’t learn and we might never find our own success.
The American novelist and playwright Truman Capote wrote,
“Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”
I agree with this wholeheartedly. It is through living our lives fully, through our mistakes,
our tears, our joys and all that comes in between that we will find our success.
I just wrote that there is not one magic recipe for success, but there are a few
ingredients we can use to ensure we reach it. These are interestingly similar to the
ones of the recipe for happiness; see this as a clue…
Here are my 10 (open) secrets to success:
- Believe in yourself. This is the most important one. Also, be yourself as much as you can; you may need to go out of your comfort zone for this. It may require some courage but also some honesty – be true to yourself. Believe that you can do anything you put your mind to. Start your day telling yourself positive affirmations such as “I can do it” – “I am confident” – “I am successful” – “I am strong” – “I am unstoppable” and so on. I tend to use Michelle Obama’s positive affirmation “Am I good enough? Yes, I am”.
- Make sure you keep in touch with people you meet and whom you feel you have an affinity with and you like. The time will come when somehow, you will be important in one another’s life. Be kind and helpful to people; not only is it a good thing to do but more importantly, it will make you happy.
- Think about your own wellbeing. Look after your health, in particular getting enough sleep. As the adage goes “we only have one life.” If you are only going through the motions because of tiredness, lack of energy or poor wellbeing, you will waste your life. Don’t waste one single day – when it’s gone, it’s gone.
- Nothing new here, but worth repeating: live in the present and in the future – your goals and your success are in the future – sometimes it’s pleasant to reminisce, but don’t live in the past.
- If you are to make your own success, apply time management’s main tip: don’t waste time on things that bring you neither achievement nor enjoyment (this is also valid for people). Write down your goals, professional and personal, you will be more likely to achieve them. Set clear and big goals, which are suitable for you. You will need to work hard to reach them, so if you don’t like the journey, you won’t enjoy the destination either. Pick them well.
- Don’t do anything by half, be it at work or in your personal life. Make a real effort in everything you do and give everyone 100% of your attention and work. Provide excellent service to your customers. Always go the extra mile; why wouldn’t you?
- Keep your promise. Be on time, amicable and easy to deal with. Show warmth and empathy to the people you meet, clients, superiors, your teams.
- Be interested in people. In conversations, at work and in your personal life, ask questions and listen actively. Don’t make the conversation about yourself; the convention is don’t talk about yourself more than about 10% of the time. A real challenge for people like me who love talking so much!
- Surround yourself with people who will add value to you, even if they are very different from yourself; in fact, especially because they are different, you will exchange ideas and opinions and learn more. Avoid negative people and be harsh; if you don’t learn or get enjoyment from their company, let them go.
- Keep learning. Take every opportunity to try new things and stretch yourself. Take on new challenges at work, volunteer to lead a special project, try a sport new to you. Read books; it’s not a waste of time, you will learn more than you may think. Self-development is crucial. Remember your goal - you are working towards your success.
The reward is twofold. Not only will you reach your goal of being successful, but you will also be happy
with your life, your work, and most importantly with yourself.
I’ll leave you with a third and final quote, this time by Albert Schweitzer, Alsatian-German theologian, philosopher, and physician among many other things,
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”
If you need help with leadership development or are looking for training course for your teams, do look through our website for workshops and courses you might find useful to yourself or your teams.
Take care.
