What Is Success and How Do We Measure It?

We all want success. We want to be successful and feel successful. We chase money, fame, power, education, relationships, and a thousand other things without ever stopping to ask one essential question: “What, actually, is success, and how do we measure it?”

Few people pause to consider what it truly means to achieve success in their own lives. As Jim Rohn said, “If you don’t design your life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”

So, here is my third challenge of the year...what if your success is not something measurable to things? Too often when only look at the measurable, we miss the small details that add up to more than we could imagine. By looking at only the numbers or focus on the things that we want to obtain, thinking that brings us success. We create a gap that will continue to grow until we realize the gap is so large that we’re not sure how to close it.

When we’re in The Gap, we feel like we’re failing, we become disillusioned, dissatisfied, and unhappy with ourselves — and our confidence plummets. This is where shifting your perspective on success becomes vital to your definition of success.

Is your perspective more about the desire to acquire, or are you looking at what your legacy will be? What is the impact you can have on those around you, to those that matter in your life?

When we die and we all will, on our headstone will have the date we were born and the date that we died. Separating those dates is a dash, the dash is really what matters, it represents what you did with your life. How are you changing your perspective of success?

Arthur M. May AIA Assoc. President

Contact | Connect | Learn More