Friday, November 28, 2008

Defining success

I've been thinking a lot lately about the definition of success. Everyone has their own interpretation of what success is, and what it is that successful people do to achieve their success.

One of the things that intrigue me most is how often others use 'financial success' as the definition of success. Is this the only true indicator of success? Certainly for some its an outcome of being successful. What about those that achieve success without it resulting in personal wealth? Are they any less successful for it? I don't think so.

I believe success is something one has to work at, regardless of how one defines it.

Success doesn't happen by chance. That is good luck. Success happens because someone makes a decision to actually do something. Taking action is the difference between those that achieve success and those that only talk about doing so.

Success is not a 'big bang' event. It doesn't happen all at once. Achieving success is an incremental process. A process of doing something, over and over again. A colleague of mine refers to this as the 1%er's. These are the people that do 1 new or different thing every day.

Furthermore success is iterative process. This means you have to keep trying. Rarely does success occur on the first effort. Like top sportspeople, success is achieved by practice and more practice. Every attempt is a part of the learning curve. Success takes time and requires patience.

The other aspect that seperates those that are successful from those that are not is the ability to bounce back from setbacks. Many successful people have failed more often than they have succeeded.

So what is my advice to you. Keep trying. When you fall down, pick yourself up and try again. Keep learning and . . .

Let The Journey Continue
John Coxon
Taking You From Frontline Manager to CEO
Email john@johncoxon.com.au
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