I think about this a lot. What is success? Ultimately it needs to be a personal vision. What is success to you?
For a long time I permanently attached Success to “Financial Success”. It was always the goal I was chasing. Money to improve my life, money for a home, money to have the life we wanted. A big money thermometer was on my wall.
The biggest gift money has been is the security it provides. My precarious life is over. So, my wish for anyone else is to achieve that security, whatever that means for you.
I now realize there is so much more to Success than just money. But everyone’s metrics are going to be different. For me it was satisfaction with my life. Passion for things I work on. Family, marriage, freedom.
And even words like Freedom, what that means to me can be completely different than for someone else.
When I speak to my children about this, as we talk about their futures, I try to impart that they need to work out what their personal vision is for Success, and don’t compare themselves with others. As long as they are personally fulfilled, then they’ve found Success. For money, my advice for them is to be secure. Make sure they are saving enough. After that, it is for them to decide what’s important.
I guess the question I would leave you to ponder would be…
What is Success to you? What are the things that are important in your life? How might you achieve them?
