Is it your own dream you are following?!

“What does success mean to you?”

I don’t know where I’m going, any road will get me there…

I guess I always thought being happy and having a lot of money was the key, but as I quickly learned, this mindset was the exact reason why I wasn’t getting anywhere.

So, what is success?

The late Zig Ziglar was one of the most respected modern day experts on success, motivation, and leading a balanced life. In his book Born to Win!, he argues that success cannot be defined in one sentence, but instead it is comprised of many things. One could argue that the definition depends on the individual and one size does not fit all.

We all want success. We want to be successful and feel successful. We chase money, fame, power, education, relationships and a thousand other things without ever stopping to ask one essential question: 

“What, actually, is success?”

Few people pause to consider what it truly means to achieve success in their own lives.

Many of us are afraid of success. But we don’t often realize it.

Fear of success is easy to miss, because it looks a lot like garden-variety procrastination and insecurity.

It’s easy to shrug fear of success off by saying “meh, I’m just procrastinating” and never bother to look closer. Maybe they are the real problems, of course – and maybe they’re not. One thing is for sure: Procrastination is hard to stop if it’s not ‘just’ procrastination.

And no matter if it is procrastination, or fear of success it can lead you to follow the dreams of others - and that can lead to never achieving your own dreams!!

Our loved ones can sometimes have the best of intentions and tell us what’s best for us.

Did you ever trie been passionate about your dreams and tell them to some who did not share your passion?

Did you trie that some of your loved ones did not believe in your dream?

I DID - I HAVE.. !

We must look ourselves in the eyes and take responsibility for our own dreams and our own success. Otherwise we can end up climbing the wrong ladder and pursue someone else’s version of success. We get to the top only to discover we climbed the wrong mountain.

What Success Isn't

Before we can pursue success, we need to understand what success isn’t. If you spend just a few minutes on social media, you’ll realize how many people hold a very narrow definition of success. They think it’s about building wealth, having the perfect relationship, launching a billion-dollar business or amassing a large social media following. And a lot of times, they attach famous people to their image of success.

None of these things or people is wrong, but being like them doesn’t necessarily make you successful. Many people have fought and struggled to the top only to feel miserable and burned out once they get there. They’re unhappy because they pursued the wrong definition of success—one that didn’t match their values.

Throughout childhood and early adulthood, we learn various ideas of success from our parents, teachers and friends. Everyone has their own agenda and idea of who and what we should be. Although it’s OK to value the opinions and hopes of others, we shouldn’t necessarily adopt them as our own. No one can impose their version of success on us. No one can tell us what it means to live the good life.

It’s easy to assume that success means obtaining a specific object, such as a job or social status, and to believe that if we get that thing, we’ll be successful. But some of the greatest successes resulted from the worst failures.

Winston Churchill said;

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.”

Denzel Washington is one of Hollywood’s most beloved and respected names. The phenomenally talented actor’s decades-long career has seen him launch from one heart-stopping role to the next, often in critically acclaimed portrayals of historical figures.

But it wasn’t always like this for the son of a Pentecostal minister and a beauty shop owner from the Bronx. From a rough upbringing, Washington struggled through much of his schooling, falling so low in university that they suggested he “take a break.”

He didn’t. Instead, he pushed through, never gave up, and went on to become one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood today!

If we rest our definition of success on one or two achievements, there’s a good chance we’ll be disappointed.

What Success Is.

We must set our goals, objectives and trajectories based on what we desire, not what someone else wants for us.

Some people find that helping people brings them the most joy, and therefore success looks like a life given to others. Some realize that building a business or product brings them happiness. Some prefer isolation and others prefer constant activity.

The simple yet profound truth is that what makes me happy doesn’t make someone else happy, and vice versa. My vision of success probably looks nothing like yours, and that’s how it should be.

If we fail to define success for ourselves and try to pursue someone else’s path, we’ll end up frustrated, unhappy and ultimately feeling deeply unsuccessful.

Bruce Lee said:

“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself; do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.”

The path to success begins by asking yourself, What makes me happy!?

It’s also essential to understand that in many ways, we already are successful. If we assume that we are failures until we reach a specific goal, we will never be happy. We have to recognize all we have already accomplished.

Success is both a goal and a journey. When we reach certain milestones, that is an element of success. But we don’t stop there. We push higher and harder, striving for more and to get better.

Tony Robbins says;

“The path to success is to take massive, determined action.”

But how do we find our path? What steps do we take to achieve true success?

We must be able to clearly answer several laser-specific questions:

1. What makes you come alive?

The word inspire comes from the Latin, meaning “to breathe life into.” Accordingly when you are working toward things that inspire you, it literally makes you feel more alive. 

2. What are your innate strengths?

Our element is the point at which natural talent and skill meets personal passion. When people are in their element they are not only more productive, but they add more value and enjoy more personal and professional fulfilment. Accordingly, it’s also often where they also tend to make more money!

3. Where do you add the greatest value?

Doing work that you’re good at, but which you loathe, is not a pathway to fulfilment. That said, knowing your greatest strengths and where you can add the most value—through the application of your education, skills, knowledge and experience—can help you focus on the opportunities, roles and career paths where you are most likely to succeed and therefore find the greatest sense of accomplishment and contribution.

4. How will you measure your life?

People who don’t stand for something, can easily fall for anything. Deciding how you want to measure your life means making a stand for something and then living your life in alignment with it.

Knowing your purpose may compel you to take on challenges that will stretch you as much as they inspire you. Just as a boat under power can handle any size wave if perpendicular to it,  when you’re powered by a clear purpose, there is little you cannot do.

If you can’t see clearly, you won’t really know what that means, or what you’re doing or where you’re going. The same is true of your vision of success.

But before you can begin moving forward, you must assess where you’re at now. This is a time for honest evaluation, not rose-colored glasses. Where are you currently successful? Where do you need to grow? What are your weaknesses and strengths? Try bringing in a friend or colleague to act as a real and unbiased sounding board.

After that, it’s time to set some specific goals. These goals should be achievable and concrete, but still challenging. Your goals should also be measurable. If you don’t define success, someone else will define it for you. What mountain are you climbing? Is it the right one? Or are you going to reach the summit and see your mountain off in the distance?

Start on the right path today.

I hope you can use some of this to find your own goals - to pursue your own dreams and to achieve your own success!! :-)

#Benice #Beproud #Bereal #Beyou

Sincerely

Michelle Quick. Founder & CEO mybalancelife.eu and levglad.dk

19 Definitions Of Success

1. Success is always doing your best.

2. Success is properly setting concrete goals.

3. Success is having a place to call home.

4. Success is understanding the difference between need and want.

5. Success is believing you can.

6. Success is remembering to balance work with passion.

7. Success is taking care of your needs.

8. Success is learning that you sometimes have to say no.

9. Success is knowing your life is filled with abundance.

10. Success is understanding you cannot keep what you don’t give away.

11. Success is overcoming fear.

12. Success is learning something new each day.

13. Success is learning that losing a few battles can help you win a war.

14. Success is loving and being loved back.

15. Success is standing your ground when you believe in something.

16. Success is not giving up.

17. Success is celebrating small victories.

18. Success is never letting a disability hold you back.

19. Success is understanding you control your destiny.

Success can be defined in many ways. I think we accomplish success when at the end of a day we can say… this was a good day. I look forward to doing it again tomorrow.

I Have found inspiration from:

lifehack.org - byrslf.co - success.com - forbes.com - the book's, High performance habits by Brendon Burchard - Winning by Jack Welch - Beach money by Jordan Adler - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey?.. - Living in the Light: A Guide to Personal and Planetary Transformation by by Shakti Gawain, Laurel King and many more...