Paideia
To be Successful: Define it
In times of hardship and trials, it is your internal compass of success that keeps you anchored to weather the storm.
Definitions of Success:
Success is a buzzword often thrown around to grab people’s attention and provide some type of value to their idea or whatever is being sold.
Success means a lot to different people in different cultures in different times. Marcus Aurelius pointed out success as being good to our fellow man and to accept it humbly and let it go with indifference. Success wasn’t the endgame for Marcus Aurelius, it was a byproduct.
Success in other places around the world revolves around culture and family values. In the US, money, prestige, and power are often tied with success. Author Simon Sinek talks about a shift in business culture of finding your why in your business and using that as a compass for success.
Oftentimes success is defined by extrinsic motivations like money or fame or beauty, but most of the time those who define success through intrinsic motivations–improving the lives of their community, providing for their family, creating jobs for the underserved– that allow people to weather the storms. Intrinsic motivators are anchors in rough seas, so how do we find our motivation?
Find your own definition of Success:
I’ve said many different things will make you successful. What leads to success? What you need to do is define your own version of success. Ignore what the media, films, tv shows, and other people say what it means to be successful, you got to define what that means to you.
It may mean having a million dollars in the bank or it could mean being able to put food on the table. It may mean being the best in your career or it may mean having more time with family and friends.
Whatever it is, you need to define it. The definition may change and that’s ok. Humans are evolving creatures. Every decade or so our perspectives shift as we gain new insights on life, it’s ok to change.
It’s the adaptable people that survive economic crashes and changing environments like water weaving through rocks in a stream.
Keep on your toes and stay adaptable and find your definition of success at your moment in time.
Build Habits for Success:
We all have different definitions of success, but the habits of successful people are similar across the board.
It takes discipline, courage, resilience, persistence, and consistency. Having a dream and a vision is ok, but a dream on its own remains a dream. A vision without work or discipline remains a fantasy.
Success comes down to what you do each day to get where you want to go.
Take financial independence as an example. You could play the lottery and win big in one go or invest properly in savings, in yourself, in your future and reach the same goal. One is a quick way to get there but you don’t learn anything other than that you had good luck that one day. The other is a long journey where you don’t always win but you always learn and improve along the way.
Once you’ve defined what success is to you, build consistent habits to get you there.
You don’t need to spend hours a day- you can if you want and are able to do so. But it can be 20 min, it can be 1 hr. Just be consistent.
If you want to read more, start off by reading 5 pages a day. Read 1 page a day. Make the daily requirement so easy to overcome that you’d feel annoyed at yourself for not fulfilling it.
Your future starts every day. Build the habit, build your future.
Conclusion:
Success is a buzzword to catch your attention.
Who doesn’t want to be successful? But it can be so much more than what society deems as success. Finding your definition of success and what it means to use is the first step towards real success. History is made of stories of those whose motivations to push further, last longer, and work harder came from within themselves.
They had to be fighting for something larger than them.
Your definition of success comes from within you, and it is the strongest measure of your character and of your future. In times of hardship and trials, it is your internal compass of success that keeps you anchored to weather the storm.
