"What is success or what makes one successful?"
Answers (21)
Only willingness and motivation.
Daniel R.
Master Connection Strategist and Facilitator
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This is both a complicated and simple question to answer and one that can be both philosophical and factual. To that end, I can only speak of my personal idea of success.
I look at success as the journey, not the destination. Success to me is the satisfaction and happiness that I have given it my all, capitalized on all the lessons learned and contributed postively to society. By this I look to create abundance that meets my physical, spiritual and emotional needs and reaching a point of "Transendence" where I can freely help others in the pursuit of their success.
When I look outward on the the success of others, I must first learn what their individual goal was and determine is success was achieved by their standards and not my own.
Listed below in Web Resource is an article that I recently wrote for a publication that I believe identifies one instance of what I am speaking about.
Links:
Daniel R. also suggests this expert on this topic:
Taylor E.
Holistic Business Strategist that helps you balance business with life and succeed in both!
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Doing what you love and making a sustainable living off of it, while also maintaining healthy relationships with the people in your life.
Patricia A. O.
at Consultant to Nonprofits, Freelance Writer, Civics and Government Instructor
Do you have a dictionary?
One is a success when one achieves one's goals.
Luca K.
Global Director for Product Development and Alumni Networks at AIESEC
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Hey Jerry,
I honestly do not know! If I would know probably I would be super rich and super satisfied already! :)
But, since I was thinking on writing my thesis on this, I came up with some conclusions:
- success is always relative - you can only be more successful than before or than somebody else, it does not exist in itself
- success is not a continuous thing, it is only temporary - you cannot be successful for your life by achieving something once (only if you have monopolized a resource really well...)
- it is lot more interesting to ask about failure, and look at examples who failed - there are a lot more of them, they provide bigger pool for analysis and probably better qualitative answers for why they have failed, than why did someone succeed
Just some basic thought, I hope it helps.
Luca
Kenneth L.
Retired Aerospace Contracts Manager, MicroMentor Volunteer and Founder "Smalltofeds"
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I took a long road to develop a value system that includes things other than career advancement and financial success.
After 30 years of chasing superficial reality in the form of money, material, travel and status, I found there are other values far more fulfilling.
It was a journey that brought me to a legacy of contribution without salary, volunteering without expecting a return, unconditional giving and receiving the gratitude, and respect of many small enterprises through my small business volunteer work.
It offers a unique opportunity to help start-ups and small business, enabling me to stay involved in my fields and assist in growing success stories.
The challenges are unending, the satisfaction is high and the opportunity to contribute and pass one's knowledge forward is unlimited.
Links:
Dave M.
Professional trade show booth traffic builder and party entertainer. Corporate and private sector events.
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Family and good friends...
Everything else is secondary...
Donna K.
Founder/CEO, The Donna Krech Companies
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I think we all have our own personal definitions of success. I find meeting the goals I set for myself and my company as success. We set all sorts of goals in our meetings.. financial, social media, events, customers, etc.. and success is reaching each of those goals or at least making positive move towards them.
Steve S.
CEO | Business Development | Rapid Growth Strategies | Author of Success Secrets of America's Fastest Growing Companies
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The late great Earl Nightingale once said:
Success is deliberately doing a job that you have decided to do. It's being the best you can be at whatever you have decided to do whether it's a CEO of a large corporation, pastor of a church, mechanic, or a homemaker.
I also once heard a man say that:
Success is waking up on the right side of the dirt!
Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal that does not violate the rights of others in any way.
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Khalid A.
Your revenue is directly proportionate to the quality and intelligence of your MARKETING
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we are already successful despite our circumstances. It's the ego that tells us that we are not. i dont confuse success with the desire to achieve more.
Patrick M.
Career Coach, Talent Management & Leadership Consultant, and Seminar Facilitator
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Success is the progressive realization of worthwhile goals.
What makes anyone successful is discovering who you are. Lead with your own unique talents and personality. Be authentic you and clarify what you want, create a plan of action, and begin to walk toward the goal you want.
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"I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have." (Abraham Lincoln)
Andrew "AJ" B.
Author at What Next A Proactive Approach to Success
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I asked a very similar question a few years ago when I was doing research for my book. Success is very personal. We are our own referee. You may say I'm not successful but I am. You may say I am successful but I'm not.
Success evolves as goals are achieved new goals are set and success is again out of reach. Just because I didn't reach the goal I originally set doesn't mean I wasn't successful. If I reach every goal I set then I'm not being ambitious enough.
Here's a link to my book: What Next A Proactive Approach to Success
Links:
Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal and/or ideal. As long as the goal is specific and the the progression is consistent and never ending.
What makes one successful is the attitude of persistence and perseverance. To be able to keep committing to one's goals and to continue to overcome difficulties and obstacles in one's path.
Now the question we must ask is: Will be be satisfied/happy/complete once we have achieved success in a goal?
Clarification added 3 months ago:
One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular. Tony Robbins
Success comes from taking the initiative and following up... persisting... eloquently expressing the depth of your love. What simple action could you take today to produce a new momentum toward success in your life? Tony Robbins
Yuhannes W.
Relationship Builder | I help businesses connect with their target market & increase sales | Online Networking ROI
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This is an excellent questions. If I may throw my 2 pennies in:
I used to think success was measured by money or being a business owner or high status and it is none of these. I used to think that I was more successful than others because I have a business and they were employees - this was totally wrong.
Simply put, a successful person is one who is on the path to accomplishing a worthy goal or cause. That's it.
For example, if a person is trying to be the BEST gas station attendant in the company - and they are actually working at this everyday and doing it, then that person is successful.... has nothing to do with money, business or position. This person's goal is driving them to be a better person and a great worker. That person will be happy and is SUCCESSFUL!
+live long and prosper
Success is achieving a known goal. To be successful, one should know every aspect of his product or service lines, be able to fix them when broken, promote in abundance and exchange with his client for that product. And he should give more than is expected, like early delivery, or even delivery with a smile. Just something extra.
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Patrick D.
Philanthropreneuring By Example with up to 50% Contribution to Good Causes 2012 - 17
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Definition of the word is a good place to start. Like 'Self Esteem' the mirror in front of you holds the image of the only person responsible for your success. We've redefined that term, among others, in our forthcoming Glossary of Being In Business4Good. Watch my profile(link below) for updates on that edition, due out in April 2012.
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Jeff M.
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® Practioner & Insurance Broker
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The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted. So, low aspirations would bring greater amounts of success.... ;-)
Success is when you can wake up in the morning and know you are being loyal to yourself and your beliefs while still making ends meet. Success is reaching your goals, no matter how small they may be. Only you can define your measure of your personal success. I suggest you make a list of 6 things you believe make one successful. Then number them in the order of importance 1-6. In the next few days, really pay attention to your daily activities to discern whether you are headed where you need to go. If not, what needs to change?
Jesse R.
Cloud Service Integrator | Business Process Automate-or | $2m+ Client Savings | $600,000+ Nonprofit
Jerry, success is identifying with your God given gifts, and living your life with those out front. We need to be cautious about this question because we live in a society that gages success in material wealth or status. But a teacher is successful because it is what he/she has wanted their entire life, a mother is successful because it is who she was called to be since she was a little girl. Not because of how much money they make or how many friend they have on television or in the white house but because they have had a clear intention, vision and calling for their life which they did not deny.
We all are born with special gifts and talents that are inherent in who we are. These gifts make us all unique and give each of us purpose in life. When we embrace and find an outward expression of these internal gifts, we become successful. Our life begins to resonate like a tuning fork and we begin to bring joy, happiness and success to everyone and everything we come in contact with. Some people spend their entire lives and never find the true expression of who they are, and other find it very early on in life, the ones that stops looking is the only one that fails.
