What does success look like for you?

Are you successful?  How do you know?  The truth is, YOU are the only one that determines whether you are successful or not.  Do you know why?  It's because each person has a vision of what success looks like based on their own perspective.  

Let me give you an example.  If you were the first person in your family to graduate from college, I'll bet your family rejoiced and that was a huge victory.  If you were born into a family of Harvard graduates, then just graduating from college was probably not good enough.  

If you started your business for some extra shoe money, then an extra $50 a week profit is successful -- well I guess it depends on how many new pairs you want a week :).  If you started your business to replace your $35,000 a year income, then $700 a week profit is successful... if you started your business to pay for your child's $50,000 a year tuition, then $1000 a week profit is successful.  What does success look like for you?   

Maybe you didn't start your business for the money at all...if you started for the fun, coming to our weekly gatherings may define success for you.  Or maybe, pampering women and playing with make-up is your definition of fun.  If you started because you really need a new car, then earning the use of a free one may define success for you.  

Maybe your goal is to replace your income, but the real definition of success to you is having the ability to take your kids to school in the morning and picking them up every afternoon... or maybe the real definition of success is having the choice to live according to your values instead of someone else's.

The point is that your definition of success belongs to you and even if you have the same "business goal" as someone else, that goal is simply a vehicle to drive you to your success.   

Why am I talking about this?  Well 2 reasons.  First, most people have never defined what success looks like to her.  Not what other people say is successful... what YOU envision success to be.  Take time to figure that out and you'll know what you're working for and I promise your daily efforts will become joyful!  Don't just figure out WHAT success is, also dig deep and understand WHY you define success the way that you do.  How will your life be different when you are living your vision?  Why is it important that you reach that place?  And why now?  

Secondly, we tend to compare ourselves to others.  We look at our colleague and think - she moved up so fast.. what's wrong with me?  She earned her car so quickly...what's wrong with me?  The best advice I can give you is that once you determine what your picture of success looks like - and you understand what your daily activity will need to build to in order to get there - stand fast to your personal goals.  Put your blinders on and don't worry about what anyone else is doing and it will keep you on YOUR path to your success.

If I called you all over to come over and help me with an urgent project to move 1000 20-lb sandbags from the left side of the street to the right side of the street and said that success means that we'll get all of those sandbags moved, we'd get started.  But if that's all I told you, I'll bet that after a few trips back and forth we'd stop and take a break or maybe even quit.  

Instead, what if I told you that the dam broke and the water was heading our way?  And we have to move 1000 20-lb sandbags from the left side of the street to the right side of the street right now or else everyone in our neighborhood will lose their homes!  I'll bet we would all work with a different sense of urgency.  I'll bet we would take a lot less breaks and I'll bet we wouldn't quit.  Yes?

What does success look like for you and how will your life be different when you are living your vision?