What Is Success?

The what is success definition, at least when it comes to the Dictionary is:

“The accomplishment of an aim or purpose.”

So essentially if you set out to accomplish something and you get it, you have succeeded. And yet I feel as if this is a basic definition that is too black and white. Life just isn’t this black and white.

Honestly I feel as if the best definition of success I have ever heard in my life is a quote, this one:

“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal.” – Earl Nightingale

Which Mr. Nightingale can teach us a thing or two about being a success. He is one of the Fathers of personal development and using ones mind to attract all great things into their life.

(If you haven’t heard his “Strangest Secret In The World” audio, check it out ASAP here below. It is life changing. And can really show you how to alter your existence for GOOD. Showing you how to use your mind to become a success. And attract everything you have ever wanted into your life.

So as long as we are in the pursuit of this goal or worthy ideal, then I truly believe we are a success. This resonated with me deeply. Because when you think about it, when we are pursuing something that is near and dear to our heart, we feel a sense of progress.

And progress equals happiness. Which the ultimate success is happiness.

I don’t think you ever truly arrive to success. It is something that you pursue all of your life. But if you are in a constant pursuit of what has been placed on your heart, then you are a success.

The main key phrase here is what has been put on your heart.

If we are pursuing things that aren’t connected to our reason for being here, then I feel that this is the ultimate failure.

I know this may sound harsh, and yet if we are going after things that we given to us outside ourselves, then it isn’t congruent with who we are.

Have you ever been in a position to where you get something you’ve been driving after and when you get it, there is a sense of emptiness? A feeling of “I thought I would be happier” or “I thought I would be more fulfilled”? I know for sure, I have.

When we reach this strange point in life, we need to reflect. Why are we feeling this way? Essentially it is because it is not aligned with your soul purpose. Maybe it was going to school to be something your parents wanted you to be. Or going against your parents and doing something else to prove to them that they were wrong. ETC.

Like Tony Robbins says:

“Success without fulfillment is the ultimate failure.” 

So in order for us to be successful, we need to being doing gut checks. Our intuition doesn’t lie. So when we are pursuing goals in life, lets ask ourselves if we are becoming better and going to be better of because of this goal?

Also, will the people in my life be impacted in a positive manner because of this. If the answer is yes, then you are right on track, if the answer is no, create a new goal. One that, when you envision yourself in attainment of, you see yourself as a happier, more progressed and more realized individual.

If you are at a loss for good goals to set, I have your back. Here is a list where you can get some good examples for goals to set in your life:

Resource: Life Goals Examples (75 Powerful Goals Examples) 

Becoming successful in life therefore demands one to look in the mirror and be honest with themselves.

Have what you have been doing thus far made you feel like a success? Or make you feel as if you are becoming successful?

If not, simply switch up your path. Figure our your core values and really delve deep into the values that mean the most to you. Once you have honed in on your top 5, create goals around them. Short term and long term goals. That are congruent with the things you want out of life. Tie a short term and long term goal to each 5 values. This will allow you to live out your most important values every single day of your life.

Also, choose 1 or 2 values that you WANT to embody in your day to day existence. Then create goals around those core values to where you will start to reinforce this new behavior. If you do this long enough, you will soon be the person you wish to become right now.

Resource: List of Core Values (The Ultimate List) 

Resolving To Pay Whatever Price

In life there is a price to pay for everything we want. We need to first ask ourselves in the price is worth paying. And if it is, then committing ourselves to paying that price. No matter how hard things get.

So once we gut check ourselves with our goals and desires, and the resonate, then it is all about paying the price. Part of paying this price is committing to persevering through tough times, learning whatever you need to learn, partnering with the right people, and making giving up a non-option.

Constant and Never Ending Improvement

One main ingredient to being a success to me is when one is dedicated to improvement. I am not just talking about taking a self help course. Or reading a couple great personal development books. I am talking about living, breathing and eating it.

Leading a life to where you wake up each day with a blank slate. And start all over. You stack up all these days into a life of massive growth.

100s and 1000’s of days of this transform a person. They literally look back on the journey and see an entirely new human being. Unrecognizable.

This to me is a success.

As we as human beings are the only species that do not strive to our greatest potential. Every other life form does so.

So when we think about it, if we are acting more like other life forms, then we are constant in a state of BECOMING. We are evolving into a more beautiful human being every single day. And the more we become, the more we have to give.

This reminds me of the verse in the Bible that talks about how we must fill our cup til it runneth over. Essentially, when we fill our cup up, we need to do something with its contents when it starts to spill over.

The spillover essentially is what we are giving to others from all the work we have done on ourselves.

And instead of constantly looking at what we can GET. We instead start asking what we can GIVE. And this is a state of enlightenment in a sense. To where we are transcending our lower self.

We are letting go of the EGO, bit by bit. Until we are more or less focused on the betterment of mankind. We become a teacher and a mentor. After years and years of being a student.

This to me is when someone can live a successful life. When they learn for the sake of giving it to others. And do so in a big way.

Zig Ziglar’s Life Success Formula

Zig is one of the best to ever do personal development. One day he was talking to a man who considered his boss to be successful. So Zig asked him to describe why he thought this man was a success. In Zig Ziglar fashion, he prompted he man with questions. These questions related to letting the man rate his boss on 8 areas of life that make one a successful person. Those were:

Happy

Healthy

Reasonably Prosperous

Secure

Have Friends

Peace of Mind

Good Family Relationships

Hope

Which the boss ended up score one out of 8. That was that he he was financially prosperous. But THAT IS IT! The man saw his boss as being a financial success and equated that to ultimate success. It is important, but only one of the 8 areas of life that makes one successful.

I couldn’t agree more that if you are making the cut on all of these items, than you are a success. No matter where you are in your journey on this earth.

And the big takeaway here is the fact that you are a well rounded person. If you are able to check off each item as being relevant to your life, then you are one of the most successful people alive.

It is when we place too much priority on one or two, and forget to strengthen the rest. That is when we may APPEAR to be successful. But many areas of our life are falling apart. And at that point, I think you are much further away from being a success than you are close to it.

So really we are talking about setting goals in each of these areas. Pursuing them daily. And monitoring our progress in each area.

If we do this, we will start getting a really good score in each of these areas of life. And become more and more successful every day.

What Is Success Quotes

“For me, success is inner peace.” – Denzel Washington

“Success is not in what you have, but who you are.” – Bo Bennett

“Success is no accident. It’s hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, loving what you are doing.” – Pele

“Behind every successful man, there’s a lot of unsuccessful years.” – Bob Brown

“I’ve learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he had to overcome while trying to succeed.” – Booker T. Washington

What Is Success Poem (Written By Chris Cucchiara)

Success is feeling blessed, when your life is a mess.

Success is feeling blessed, when your life is the best.

When you can feel good about your choices, when you lay your head to rest.

When you can say you gave it your all, when life puts you to the test.

Success is a mother who raises her child alone.

All the love and adoration that child is shown.

Success is person who goes after their dreams.

When every single odd is against them, it seems.

Success is a child that grows into an adult.

And assumes responsibility whenever at fault.

Success is never stopping, when you want to throw in the towel.

Hungry for your goals so bad, your stomach will growl.

All in all, success is walking the path of uncharted unknowns.

Where you are pursuing what feels like truth, deep in your bones.

What Is Success Planning

Success planning to me, is essentially what Tony Robbins teaches about when he speaks on called “Rapid Planning Method”. It is leverage and optimal strategy and structure to your day.

Bu utilizing RPM you can really start to get the things you want out of life much faster than before. And most times do it easier. As you are creating a direct path towards your desires.

Here is an overview of how to use RPM in your daily life.

1.) Make A To Do List (CAPTURE)

Stick with me here, it isn’t JUST doing a to do list. But start by capturing all you want to get done on any given day.

A lot of these given tasks will start to form a pattern. Things will be related to each other on this list. Work items, chore items, family items.

After you identify this pattern, start grouping or chunking together all the ones that are related to each other.

Create an RPM Plan (Results, Purpose and Outcome)

Results (R) – When we set out to plan our day, we need to become clear on what we really want. As Tony states:

“Activity without purpose is the drain of your life!”

Purpose (P) – So figure out WHY these things are important to you. Go deeper on them. Your reasons why will give you more willpower to get things done (GTD). This way your power behind your intention is more honed in on and will show you WHY you are doing the things on your to-do list.

MASSIVE ACTION (M) – Then list out your 3 most important ones. Which he talks about how there will be items on the list that are the 20 percent most important. Which will give you 80 percent of the results you are after. This is also referred to as the Pareto Principle.

Focus on these 3 then look for leverage on how to get them done. Can you hire someone? Learn how to do them better? ETC.

After you have done this, then simply rinse and repeat. Do so each and every day. You will notice that one you start knocking off these big items on your list, the other things on your list will almost become irrelevant. Or at least have much less need to get done.

Success Is Happiness

At the end of the day, if you feel happy about your life, truly happy, then you are a success. Keep growing, keep learning and keep pursuing goals that bring MASSIVE meaning to your life. And if you can, built yourself into a person that will impact people through what you do. Because giving back to this world will give you more meaning than you could every imagine. Which will instantly make you feel successful and happy.

What Does Success Mean To You?

So what does success look like to you? I would love to hear your perspectives on it. To see what you think it really is. Is it money? Fame? Notoriety? Power? Share with me your advice on the meaning of success for you!

Conclusion to What is Success

Thank you very much for reading my friends.

Share with me your expertise and advice in the comment section below. Lets chat about success, what it is to you, and how we can all help each other become more successful in this life.