Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal. (Earl Nightingale, The Strangest Secret)

Many people mark success by the car they drive and the house they own. People covet the possessions of the rich and famous and think if I had eight Hummers like (insert name of celebrity here) and a multi-million dollar house, I’d be happy. I’d have every thing I’d ever want. I’d be a success. I don’t think we can find success simply through acquiring things.

Success is realizing a goal. If your goal is simply to have a big fancy house and an expensive car that can be achieved. But what will you have once you get those things? Yes, you’ll have the big fancy house and expensive car, but then what?

Goals that bring you success are more about becoming something than acquiring things. If someone wants to be an architect and is doing the best they can to accomplish that goal and to become the best architect possible, then that person is a success. If someone wants to be a stay at home mom and she’s doing her best to fulfill that goal then she is a success. Most worthy goals can’t be reached quickly, but must be achieved little by little over time. In the process of trying to reach them and trying to become what you ultimately want to be, you are achieving success.

Take a piece of paper and write down what you want your life to be like. Imagine the details of what you want to be. Write it on lots of pieces of paper and put it around your house. Carry a copy of it with you. Look at it from time to time to remember what your goal is. This constant reminder will help you stay on track.

There are people who do things simply because everyone else does. They live a “normal” life. You shouldn’t keep a job or live a lifestyle that is unfulfilling to you just because it’s what’s expected of you and it’s safe. You should discover what you truly want to do and start trying to do it.

For example, I want to write. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do my entire life, but I’ve never tried to be a professional writer until now because I let other people convince me that it was impossible. So when I graduated from college, I got a normal job. I worked office jobs. I taught English. I became a massage therapist. I did these things because I thought that I had to settle to be financially stable and to live life like I was supposed to. Yes, these jobs all gave me steady pay checks, but I hated getting up every morning and going to work. I hated all the time I spent at work. I felt like my jobs where a waste of time. You spend most of your time at work so feeling that way really isn’t good.

Now I’m trying to do what I should’ve been doing since the beginning and I’m happy. Isn’t that the true measure of success?

Photo by visulogik