Who am I to write about success?

Hey I’m successful, maybe not in your eyes, but “Hell Yeah!” in mine.

Success for me is a happy family, a great night’s sleep, a good day at work, a delicious meal, and attracting great clients to my business. Oh, and of course finishing my blog.

Every day I think about achieving my goals and creating success.

But then I get to thinking, what does success mean? For every individual, success is a deeply personal issue.

What about you? Have you ever thought about it? Your success?

I came across an article recently in the Daily Mail asking if I shared the six personality traits of a successful woman.

Number 2. Aggression

Um, never have I thought about aggression as a trait of a successful woman, assertive, yes, empathy, yes, stress tolerance – well we all need that don’t we – bringing vitality to my work, yep, ego strength – well okay, I suppose I have a bit of an ego otherwise I wouldn’t have my unwavering belief in myself. But aggression? I don’t really see the need for this to succeed. I try to pride myself on being assertive not aggressive, but I’m not getting hung up on that article.

So I took a look around and over 989 000 000 results came back to my request “what is success?”!

Miriam Webster Dictionary

• the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect or fame
• the correct or desired result of an attempt

Cambridge Dictionary

• the achieving of the results wanted or hoped for
• something that achieves positive results

Oxford Dictionary

• the accomplishment of an aim or purpose
• the attainment of fame, wealth or social status

Okay. So, wealth, fame and status is success. But not everyone wants that, right?

I mean, as I said before, a good night’s sleep is success in my eyes, but it doesn’t bring me wealth or fame. So is it really not a success?

I think not!

What about all the new mums out there? Now, if memory serves me correctly, success for them is when their new baby sleeps throughout the night without waking (even though they’ve checked on them ten times during the night). Their baby enjoyed what was offered for dinner and ate it all (even if it was only mashed carrots). Their baby made a new friend at their first day at school. They had a ten minute cuppa break without being interrupted!

Success for the mother of a teenager might be having a conversation that contains more than two grunts and a yawn. It could be that said teenager arrives home on time as asked (okay demanded!). Success could also mean one less request for an interview by the school principal.

Are these ideas of success any less valid than the business owner who’s about to sign a contract for multi-million dollar deal?

I think NOT.

As I said, success is extremely personal and means different things to different people. So what you need to do first, before you can even start to become successful, is to determine what success is to you. Then you’ve got a starting point.

Maybe you’re a business woman and want to be acknowledged and valued for your work as much as the men. Maybe you want a better work/life balance. Maybe you’re that new mum and you want a bubble bath (on your own). Or you’re that mum of a teenager who has gone out and you want to be able to have that glass of wine with dinner, not worrying about whether you have to go and collect them if they call. Maybe, like me, it’s a good night’s sleep.

If a great night’s sleep means success to you, set a plan in motion for your goal. Be specific – what is a great night’s sleep? 10 hours? 8? 6? How will you know when you have achieved it? The alarm goes off in the morning, and you pump the air – yahoo, I made it? Is it achievable? What do you need to do? Turn off the TV before the movie finishes, leave the party before the stroke of midnight. Is there anyone who will impact the achievement of your goal/success? Are you solely responsible for the outcome? And when do you want it to happen. Set the timeframe. Tonight? Tomorrow night?

Okay, so maybe you have loftier goals (in your eyes) than eight hours sleep, but you get my drift.

Success depends on plans. Success depends on action.

So define your success. Set your plan. And MOVE!

Remember, success does not have to be fame, wealth and status. It’s what you want it to be. It’s what makes you happy.

When I think of success, I think of what Maya Angelou said…

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

Start Kicking Up Your Heels,

Sam