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What Does Success Mean To You?

What Is Success?

In the simplest sense, to succeed means to turn out well. But success means different things to different people.  Naturally, you want to know if you and I are on the same page when we talk about increasing your level of success. How will we measure it? How will we know if we've achieved our goal together? Below are three key ways to describe the outcomes we're looking for as we work together.

Success As Performance

When success is seen through the lens of performance, being successful simply means being able to perform well – to do what it takes to get results. Ultimate success as performance means you are able to reliably and consistently apply the full force of your capacity to your endeavors and make them turn out the way you intend. It means maintaining your Ideal Performance State (IPS), a term coined by Performance Psychologist and developer of LGE's Corporate Athlete Training System, James E. Loehr, Ed.D.

Success As Fulfillment

Coaches, psychologists, business leaders, sages, and spiritual leaders use several different terms to refer to success: happiness, a good life, a meaningful life, and an authentically happy life. All these terms suggest a set of core ingredients for success as fulfillment. The two perspectives that best capture success as fulfillment are the psychological and the spiritual.

Academic and Research Psychologist Martin Seligman, Ph.D. states that, "Authentic happiness comes from identifying and cultivating your most fundamental strengths and using them every day in work, love, play, and parenting."

Philosopher, academic, and mystic Rabbi Marc Gafni states that, "Happiness is a natural result of the way your values help weave the singular tapestry of your life, lived in response to your call. Happiness derives from the pursuit of the meaning of your life, the plumbing of your unique depth, and enacting the good that you are uniquely capable of doing in the world."

Success As a Product of Synergy Between Work And Personal Life

It's commonly believed that if you are successful, you will be happy. However, the results of research by psychologists and the wisdom of philosophers and sages suggest a different perspective:

The more you are functioning in your ideal performance state and living an authentically happy life, the more successful you will be.

You project competence, integrity, and well-being. When you manage your work life and your personal life with respect for their interdependence, you live in a world that is more than just "balanced." Your work life and your personal life actually become dynamic partners, each enhancing and nourishing the other.

The synthesis of work and personal life produces a higher level of well-being physically, mentally, emotionally, and, spiritually. The various aspects of your life, like the instruments in an orchestra, create a harmony that is greater than the sum of its parts. This greater well-being enables you to function optimally in your work endeavors.

What Have Been Some Of The Main Influences Of My Philosophy?

My beliefs have been shaped by many forces and sources over the years. Below are some of the books and articles that I have found most important.

These writers come from varied fields: academic psychologists, business leaders, coaches, journalists, poets, spiritual guides, and sports psychologists. Each of them, from their own perspective, points to a collective wisdom about the meaning of success.

References

American Psychological Association. (2000). Special Issue on Happiness, Excellence, and Optimal Human Functioning. American Psychologist, 55(1), 1-200.

Buford, B. (1994). Halftime. Zondervan.

Bronson, P. (2003). What Should I Do With My Life? Random House.

Chopra, D. (1994). The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. Amber-Allen Publishing & New World Library.

Covey, S. (1989). The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People. Simon & Schuster.

Drucker, P.F. (1999). Managing Oneself. Harvard Business Review. Reprint Number 99204.

Gafni, M. ( 2001). Soul Prints. Simon & Schuster.

Kornfield, J. (1993). A Path With Heart. Bantam Books.

Loehr, J.E. (1994). Toughness Training For Life. Penguin Books.

Loehr, J.E. (1997). Stress For Success. Three Rivers Press.

Loehr, J.E., and Schwartz, T. (2003). The Power  of Full Engagement. Free Press.

Mahrer, A. R. (1996). The Complete Guide To Experiential Psychotherapy. John Wiley & Sons.

Maslow, A. H. (1968). The Jonah Complex. In Bennis, W. G., Schein, E.H., Steele, F.I., & Berlew, D.E. (Eds.) Interpersonal Dynamics, Pp. 714-720. Dorsey Press.

Millman, D. (1995). The Laws Of Spirit. H.J. Kramer.

Rogers, C. R. (1961). On Becoming A Person. Houghton Mifflin Company.

Seligman, M.E.P. (2002). Authentic Happiness. Free Press.

Whitworth, L., Kimsey-House, H., & Sandahl, P. (1998). Co-Active Coaching. Davies-Black Publishing.

Whyte, D. (1994). The Heart Aroused. Doubleday.