Category: Defining Success

1. Growth – Because if you’re not growing, you’re regressing—there is no maintaining. And success should never consist of regressing. You should always be learning—from tasks, projects, challenges, mistakes—of course. But, also from mentors, co-workers, and resources made available to you as part of the work. Ask yourself: Am I realizing my potential or regressing each day? Like the stock market, am I trending upward or downward? What can I do to improve the current trend of my graph?

2. Contribution – Are you really successful if your success is only being celebrated, shared, and enjoyed by you and you alone? I’ll tell you what success alone is—it’s sad. Taking what you’ve gained and sharing it with others? Helping people who are struggling, similar to how you were struggling before, and seeing them overcome similar obstacles as a result of your efforts? Feeling like you’re making an impact on a scale that’s greater than just you? That isn’t sad at all. In fact, that’s quite admirable, impressive, and rewarding.

3. Presence – Because, heck, if you aren’t enjoying the ride and are tirelessly just hoping to arrive, what kind of success is that? Success isn’t found at some arrival point. Success is found in the daily grind; in the hustle; in the how our days are being spent. Because if we don’t find meaning or joy in the work we’re doing—why are we doing it? Other than to provide for the needs of yourself or loved ones, your why should be inspected carefully. Years spent miserably aren’t offset by a day of arrival. In fact, it’s precisely how our years are spent where success (or not) will ultimately be defined.

The new successful isn’t busy, it’s unbusy.

Being the “busy executive” has been seen by too many as the epitome of success and it’s leading people to live wildly unbalanced lives.

There are 168 hours in the week. Minus 8 hours / night for sleeping = 112 hours. Minus 2 hours / day for eating and food prepping = 98 hours. Minus 1 hour / day for exercise and wellbeing = 105 hours.

Which leaves 15 hours / day for work, relationships, personal growth, and fun.

15 hours / day.

How is it that we’re too busy for family? For friends? For reading? For writing? For learning? For fun? How is it that we manage to fill so much of our days with busy-ness?

15 hours / day should be plenty.

Even on the days when you work 8 hours, that’s still 7 hours left for your other priorities!

It’s as if the equation for success is: busy = important = successful. And so if busy goes up, important goes up. And if important goes up, successful goes up. But, does it really?

If time is our most valuable asset—then how can we be rich if we’re time-poor?

If it’s true that time is our most valuable resource, then shouldn’t time-rich be the ultimate rich?

Long term trust is exponentially better than short term money.

Because when I trust you, I tell other people about you.

And when I don’t, I also tell other people about you.

What gets said in each conversation has the potential to either exponentially help or hinder your growth in whatever business you’re involved in.

Am I going to refer 10 friends to you or tell my 10 friends never to cross paths with you?

Because whatever I tell them is probably what they’re going to tell their 10 friends, too.

Rather than forcing a sale, always say what you would do if you were them.

And be damn honest about.

When you treat others the way you want to be treated; you’ll always get paid in full.

Step 1: Stop wishing for more lucky days.

Sure, you might get lucky and stumble upon some treasure whilst going about your everyday business. We all get lucky sometimes. 

A $5 bill on the ground here. A scratch-off win there. But, “sometimes” isn’t a good model for growth. And luck isn’t a good strategy for success — at least not the arbitrary kind of luck that’s brought about by chance rather than one’s actions.

And besides, do you really want to attribute your success to luck? C’mon.

Step 2: Define what being “lucky” means to you.

Money? Fame? Luxury? Is that really it? Or is there more to it than that?

A good question to spend some time on is, what would you like to do if money were no object? As in, how would you really like to spend your time? Because here’s the thing, I don’t think a problem-free life on the beach is what we’re really after.

Focus on feelings over possessions.

Step 3: Make your own damn luck.

• If I can figure out this algorithm, I’ll get lucky and appear on everybody’s searches. Versus, if I can figure out what lights up my soul, I’ll get lucky and find ways to do work that I truly enjoy.
• If I can do what’s trendy before everybody else, I’ll get lucky and go viral! Versus, if I can do what’s authentic to me — what nobody else can uniquely do — I can get lucky and fulfill my purpose.
• If I would just get picked, they would all see how lucky they are! Versus, if I just picked myself, I would be the luckiest person every time.