I have had the pleasure of speaking to any number of phenomenal groups of women (and a few men ;’)) across the United States and to participate in many global teleconferences.
Despite doing this innumerable times, I spend the evening prior fine-tuning what I am going to say, refine any handouts or takeaways and spend time centering myself and setting an intention for the upcoming event. Be it I am in a hotel room, staying with friends or working from my home office, I enjoy the luxury of a calm and quiet evening. In the quietness, I feel immense gratitude for being asked to share and to contribute key tips, tools and techniques on the topic of SUCCESS.
It short, it really comes down to a simple idea- Each of us strives to be more of, or closer to, our ideal self. Sounds pretty simple when you hear it said that way, right? So what can I offer to help you and my audiences better grasp the idea of success? Is there a pattern, a sure way or commonalities in any and all success?
What is your definition of success? Is it the same for you as it is for your colleagues, peers or family members? How about your neighbor? The reality is “success” is different for each of us. For some it is the next promotion, for others it is more time with your family, for others it is contribution to the community or a cause you care greatly about. And while each of us may share some similar ideas of success, the specifics are individual to us.
And understanding more of “what” makes up success is going to be helpful to you in setting your personal path to success. So what then makes up a “success” for each of us? Are there commonalities? Well research shows us there are 3 commonalities in each of our definitions of success.
The three commonalities to any accomplishment called “success” are self-expression, contribution and happiness. Let’s talk about the first one.
Self-Expression
If you reflect on one of your desires or one of your past successes, you will see you are seeking to express yourself more fully. That is – to live your purpose, to be who and what you really are at the core. For example, let’s take a very common goal –that of weight loss. When you achieve the loss of those X lbs. you set for yourself, you feel success. You feel you can and are now more of who you are. Maybe that is because you are able to be more active with the kids, maybe you feel better, or you feel more confident in who you are… you are more fully expressing yourself. Not only have you achieved a goal you set reinforcing your ability to set and achieve goals. More importantly, you have moved yourself forward to be more in line with who you see yourself as and doing what is most meaningful for you.
Another example of this is achieving that much lauded 5 figure month in your business. Again, making that level of income is an acknowledgement of your successful expression of yourself and demonstrates both your ability to achieve as well as to meet goals you set. All but a few of us go in to the type of business that allows us to express more of who we are – be it a deli, a spa, a consulting firm, online marketing firm or a coaching business. Obviously, I didn’t choose to open a deli. I am pursuing my
Idea of success allowing me to fully express myself through helping entrepreneurs, business owners and professionals seeking a change to more fully express themselves. My idea of success is helping others to find their successes – big and small. And that leads us right into the second key to understanding success – Contribution.
Come back next week for more on that second key to understanding your successes. Until then, how are you expressing yourself?
Recent Comments