Definition of Success That Matters

To a small business owner, to an employee--to anyone--there is only one way to determine success. Sure, success in business and in life means different things to different people.  

And success should mean different things. Whether or not you are successful depends on how you define success, and on the trade-offs you are willing to not just accept but embrace as you pursue that definition of success. We can have a lot but we can't have everything.

I get that, but I also get this. To a small business owner, to an employee--to anyone--there is only one way to determine success. The answer lies in answering one question: How happy am I? That’s it. How successful you are is based solely on the answer to that question.

How happy are you?

Extremely successful entrepreneurs--at least in terms of traditional business success--work impossibly long hours while focusing almost exclusively on building their business. In many cases (some would argue most cases) their personal and family lives are to some degree a casualty of that focus.

Is that a fair tradeoff?

Fair or unfair is beside the point.

The one thing successful people never do

Success comes in all shapes and colours. You can be successful in your job and career but you can equally be successful in your marriage, at sports or a hobby. Whatever success you are after there is one thing all radically successful people have in common: Their ferocious drive and hunger for success makes them never give up.

Successful people (or the people talking or writing about them) often paint a picture of the perfect ascent to success. In fact, some of the most successful people in business, entertainment and sport have failed. Many have failed numerous times but they have never given up. Successful people are able to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and carry on trying.

I have collected some examples that should be an inspiration to anyone who aspires to be successful. They show that if you want to succeed you should expect failure along the way. I actually believe that failure can spur you on and make you try even harder. You could argue that every experience of failure increases the hunger for success. The truly successful won't be beaten, they take responsibility for failure, learn from it and start all over from a stronger position.