Money, possessions, prestige—are all fine. They are symbols of success. But money, possessions, prestige, and control are not that meaningful to some individuals. For many other people there are less flashy marks of success, and they are just as fine as the one’s we’ve covered:
*Raising a well-adjusted family whose members are law abiding, productive members of society.
*Earning a scholarship and going to college, getting a degree, or simply going back to finish high school.
*Being a credit to your community and active in service to it. Whether in local civic affairs, your church,or volunteering to do something when someone is needed to do it.
*Planning for retirement, enjoying retirement, and taking time to smell the roses when you get there.
*Enjoying good health, being heart-smart, diet conscious, exercising and following the advice of your doctor.
That last one is a must in my book. I make sure I have an annual physical, work out in my own fitness room, and there’s a lot less of me around the waist than there was a few years ago. Your goal might very well be to get in shape. A healthy body, not necessarily a show-off body, spells success in my book. You’d be surprised at the number of businesses that provide exercise facilities for their employees. They’ve found out that working out means not only working better but working smart.
As you can see, people’s viewpoints about success differ. I know one businessman who would rather have “Vice President” on his office door than have a raise. That was his top. He mastered his way there and he was happy.
Opening the world to a pupil or a classroom of students may be all the success wished for by a dedicated, but often underpaid teacher. I bet you know one or two such teachers. Preservation of our forests, cleanup of our lakes and rivers, and air free from pollution are successes that conservationists strive for.
A breakthrough in medical research—discovering as cure for cancer or saving human lives through transplant may be the greatest success that can be attained. Here, business know how is as important as medical know how, because the costs can be in megabucks.
There are all kinds of “tops”, aren’t there? That’s why it’s so important to define the top you’re trying to reach, to narrow the field, to know absolutely where you’re going. Only you can decide what top you wish to reach. You must decide it, define it, nail it down, and keep it in plain sight before you can take the steps to reach it. I have a sign on my office wall that reads:
The secret to life is to know what you want, write it down, then commit yourself to accomplishing it!
Photo Credit- RTS
