What Does Success Look Like To You

What Does Success Look Like To You? –  How Do Your Measure It?

What is your interpretation of success? What does success look like to you and how do you measure it? Here is the definition of success and the many ways you can measure it.

Hi Trish Davies here and today I want to talk about success and what it means. Also, I want to cover just how you measure success because in a lot of scenarios not everything is equal which I will explain shortly.

What does success look like to you? Before you think about that question  I will give you a true definition of success. Then I will share how it can be gauged within all aspects of your life and it is not always about just how much money you have in the bank!

So, let’s start with the definition of success.

What Is Success? 

Success is the achievement of something that you are or have been trying to do. Now that is quite a broad statement so let’s try and break it down into a few categories.

Usually, people look upon success with blinkers on so to speak and only look at things related to business. Therefore, I am going to turn the tables and look at other things first before I put the business hat on so to speak.

What Does Success Look Like To You – What You Achieve Personally 

We all enter this world the same way and we all have a clean slate. So personally, there are thousands of ways that we can become successful. Everything revolves around education whether you are taught from experts, or you try and figure it out yourself. That can take longer but could have a bigger impact on your life.

I say that because if you have figured it out you have learnt many valuable lesson along the way. You would have made mistakes but then found the solution.

Right from your infant days you must learn to crawl, walk then read and write which are life skills. That is part of your personal development. You go to school to learn social skills and how to interact with other people and form relationships with your peers.

Also, you form relationships with your elders which help mould you into the person that you have become.  Someone who is trustworthy, honest, caring and a hard-working individual.

If you master these then you have fulfilled the definition of success. See I told you it not all about money and power!

Everyone Are Not Equal 

Through your education your will learn the same curriculum as your fellow pupils. On paper some may get a better grade than you. However, this should not be seen as them being more successful than you and here is the reason why.

Everybody has their own limits and capabilities. Therefore, if you put 100% in and leave nothing on the table you will get the highest grade possible. So, in reality you are as successful as the next person. It is when you don’t put the effort in that you are not successful.

Look at parenting for a moment. You and your partner decide to bring another human life into the world. This is a serious commitment and should not be taken lightly. You nurture that tiny person from an infant to a toddler, then a teenager into a young adult. That young adult has great values and morals like you. You could say that this is the ultimate success which no amount of money can buy.

Even when relationships break down as long as the main focus is the child then both parents can be proud of what they have achieved. If they had stayed together then there could have been serious repercussions. The child’s path could have taken a different direction and not for the better. So, success can come from failure so to speak.

Developing respect from other people means that you are a person who is likeable, trustworthy, honest. Someone who cares and goes that extra mile for other people. You are a valuable member of society and should be very proud of yourself. Therefore, you have succeeded in life because people look up to you, rely on you and you become a role model for other people to try and emulate.

What Does Success Look Like To You Within Your Career And Business?

Now we will move onto the professional and business side of your life. When we are younger we always get asked what we want to do when we get older. This is great because it makes us start to think about our future.

For boys it may be an astronaut, footballer, policeman and for girls it may be a princess, model or nurse. These stem from influences from the role models that you have and want to be like.

So, if you set your heart on becoming something, then educated yourself on how to become that person then congratulations. You have succeeded in achieving your lifetimes ambition.

Sometimes it doesn’t always work out though. The best example I can give is for people who wanted to be a sports star. To become top of any sport there are several hoops that you must go through, and the margins are so fine it is unbelievable.

It could be that someone else has slightly more natural tale. Therefore, they play in the top league, the other person in the second tier. However, most people would look at the first person as being more successful.

The only tangible thing you could measure is the number of medals they may have. However, in reality both people have achieved their dream of competing in professional sport!

Then look at a person who could not follow their dreams due to injury. They may have gone onto build a life in a totally different niche or industry. They are a real success and should not be seen as a failure.

Time To Climb That Corporate Ladder 

Usually when you start your first job you start at the bottom rung of the ladder. This is where you cut your teeth in a business environment. You may do the filing, make the coffee or any other menial job but this is part of your education in the workspace.

After time though you will grow into your role, gain more confidence, become more competent. As a result, more opportunities will emerge for you to go up the corporate ladder.

Each step should be seen as success. Eventually you will find the position that you are most comfortable with. Some people may go higher because that is their ambition which is great. However, happiness is a great yard stick when it comes to success so as long as you are happy you are just as successful as them.

A Tale Of Two Businesses 

Then look at people who start their own business. The most common factor for success is how much money they are making. However, that is not always the way to look at it.

If you look at two businesses in the same industry. The first turns over $100,000 per year and the second turns over $50,000 per year.

Unless you know the true statistics people would say that the first business owner is the most successful. However hypothetically if the first business had a profit margin of 20% it would make $20,000 profit per year.

The second business has a profit margin of 50%. Therefore, it would make $25,000 profit per year. If you are solely measuring on profit then the second business is more successful. However, this is still not the way to look at it.

In each case the business owner had an idea, a dream to start their own business. Both started with nothing and have managed to build something that is a valuable asset. An asset that serves the general public, so they are just as successful as each other.

I read a really good article the other day on Business Insider. It was all about 12 really powerful people who each had their definitions and interpretations on success. The first of the power moguls was Sir Richard Branson who started with a record shop. He then went onto build one of the most well-known worldwide brands which is Virgin. Here is what his definition of success is.

Success According To Sir Richard Branson Courtesy Of Business Insider

“Too many people measure how successful they are by how much money they make or the people that they associate with,” he wrote on LinkedIn. “In my opinion, true success should be measured by how happy you are.”

Something to think about I am sure you will agree.

So, as you can see success is not all about how much money you have. It is not how much power you are perceived to have. Also, it is not how many cars or houses you own. It is much deeper than that. Whatever you put your mind to and achieve is quantified as success.

As Sir Richard Branson said, success is happiness so if can achieve happiness then you will have a rewarding and fulfilling life which should be everybody’s goal in life! Therefore, what does success look like to you? Please leave your comments below.

A life of freedom and choice

Trish Davies

Trish Davies International