There has been much written about the meaning of success in the circles of business. But how many of us feel successful?
And what is success anyway?
Mike Iamele, author of Enough Already, said in an interview recently that he defines success as “freedom and healing.” I love how Mike emphasizes that we must stop allowing others to define success for us and how he helps us stop the cycle of self-sabotage. Mike’s story of how he went from being a shooting start in the corporate and political scenes to a profound shift resulting from a debilitating health crisis at a very young age is an amazing story indeed. His wisdom is beyond his years. You can go grab a copy of his book HERE.
For me success is not defined by how much money is made or by the size of my mailing list.
Success is a sense of fulfillment. A sense of feeling free to be and express who we are in the world in a way that enlivens us.
My colleague, Dr. Liz Lasky, recently interviewed me along with 26 other experts in various professional fields on the subjects of success as part of a very special summit. I had the honor and privilege of sharing with Liz my view of what it means to be successful.
While most people measure success by numbers of dollars in the bank, pounds on the scale or followers in social media. I’ve recently been giving a lot of thought to what success really means and I’ve come up with 5 Key Tips on how to redefine success in your life!
- Step away from the numbers! Ditch the bathroom scale, stop counting your coins and forget about how many friends you have on facebook. I’m writing from personal experience here. I’ve had the big bucks in the bank, I have the followers and fans and I’ve experienced the 50 pound weight loss. But pounds can be regained. Money can be spent or lost and followers can fade in a blink. I’m here to tell you today, those numbers are NOT the indicators of success. It’s the QUALITY of your relationships with self, others, nature and life that yields a true sense of success. As soon as you stop obsessing about numbers and start focusing on the way you FEEL in yourself and your life you will experience real success.
- Make a list! Start a running list of every moment, experience, place, person in your life where you have felt alive, vibrant, energized, encouraged, accomplished. It can be the time you made that killer lasagna for your friends and family or the time you made it down a blue ski run without falling or your first kiss or the day your child was born. It can be small things, big things or anywhere in between but make sure they are things that elicit a sensation of vibrancy.
- Smile at yourself! Give yourself genuine pats on the back at every opportunity, acknowledging your own worth and value as a living, breathing human being doing the best you can do. Let this practice replace the one of self-criticism. As Mike Iamele talks about you are ENOUGH already – as you are right here and now!
- Reach out! Success is a feeling we can experience when we are authentically connected to others. Make it a habit to reach out from your heart to be of service to others, to ask for help, or just to have a meaningful conversation with someone every day. Seek genuine connection and you will feel successful in your life because in the end that’s what life is about – authentic connection.
- Get aligned! Examine what really matters the most to you spiritually and make sure you are living your daily life in alignment with your most heart-centered values. Walk the talk. Honor your body, your mind and your spirit in every way and this experience of alignment will guarantee you will FEEL the ultimate sensation of success in your daily life.
I want to extend an invitation and really encourage you to go SIGN UP FOR THE FREE SUCCESS SUMMIT! Dr. Liz Lasky has put together an amazing collection of video interviews with all kinds of fascinating people who have a variety of ways of explaining this concept of success. You will glean all kinds of perspectives, pointers and support as you work to create an experience of success in YOUR life and business.
