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

Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it. – Maya Angelou

Is this how you define success? We all have at some time. But how do you define it now?

What does that mean?
We all have days when we like ourselves, and then there are days when we don’t. But if, on average, we don’t really like ourselves, it would be hard to consider ourselves a success.

We all have had days, and even jobs, where we really didn’t like what we were doing. If that was the norm, rather than the exception, it would be hard to consider ourselves a success.

Even if we liked ourselves and what we did, but were uncomfortable with how we did it (for legal or ethical reasons), it would be hard to consider ourselves a success.

However, when we have all three, when we like who we are, what we do, and how we do it, it’s hard not to consider ourselves successful. Even if the results of your efforts are a bit lacking, there is still much about which to be happy.

Why is properly defining success important?  
Far too many people define success in terms of cash flow, or as a surplus of cash at the end of an accounting period. That may be important as a business, but is it truly a good definition, a proper or fitting description, of success?

I realize that the definition, and even scale, of success is different in other cultures and places. But sadly, in many of them, the definition is becoming centered around how much money one can get, or how one chooses to spend it.

Do you have to have a certain kind of car, or live in a certain neighborhood to be successful? Is that really a proper definition of the term? Or can one be a success without first making a million dollars, a private jet, or a top-end sport-luxury car?

If being on the cover of a magazine is part of your definition, I would ask if you are trying to be successful for your sake, or to impress others? Is that really being successful? Can you do all that, and still like yourself, what you do, and how you do it? Be careful how you define success, lest you trap yourself.

Where can I apply this in my life?
The first thing you will have to do is figure out what the term ‘success’ means to you. What does a person need to do, be, or have, in order for you to consider them successful? If it involves being invited to the “must go” party of the year, might I suggest you reconsider your definition?

While I doubt that kind of person would read this kind of blog, you’ve probably met one or two people who are like that. What must that kind of life be like? Do they really like themselves, what they do, and how they do it? Perhaps they have slightly different values.

For most of the rest of the world, success is fairly well defined. But how much time have you put into thinking about it? Have you ever considered what you value, and what beliefs you have about success? Have you looked back at how your definition of success has changed over the years?

When I was fresh out of school, I was amazed. They were actually paying me money to do what I enjoyed doing. And the transition from starving college kid to having a paycheck was similarly amazing, as I actually had money left over at the end of the month! WooHoo! I was a success!

Then, it was chasing the raises and the promotions. Was my raise better than the average? If so, it implied that I was doing better than my average peer, so I was being successful in my career. The yardstick of money was no longer an end onto itself, but a way of measuring professional development.

Then I got married to my ex-wife. Success now had an inter-personal dimension. I was not prepared for that, and I was not very successful. But I did learn from the experience, and the next time, I managed to achieve success in that field as well.

Now that I have kids, my definition of success has changed again. I have gone from cave-man bread winner, through life-mate, to father and mentor. My success revolves more around preparing them for the world than amassing a dragon’s hoard of cash.

Take a moment and consider how you define success. Then answer a deeper question – Why? Why is that your measure? What does that mean to you, and why is it important? Dig deeper still – What belief do you have which supports these definitions and reasons?

Now comes the fun part. Do you like these beliefs, reasons and definitions? If not, consider what you might need to change in order to better like who you are, what you do, and how you do it.

It may be as simple as using a different yardstick to measure success, or it might simply be a change in what you chose to focus on in your life. But it is up to you to figure out what is important.

Don’t wait, get started now. Be successful, by your definition, not theirs.

From: Twitter, @AR_Foundation
confirmed at : http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:Maya_Angelou listed as unsourced
Photo by Tax Credits

Related articles

• How Do You Measure Success (cynthiabraseth.wordpress.com)
• 10 Self Development Tips from Maya Angelou (theengagingbrand.typepad.com)
• Defining Success: What’s Your Definition ? (hasancarriel.com)
• Define Success (futureofwork.glider.com)
• Pep rally … or … YOUR definition of success (upliftingmotivation.wordpress.com)