Mastering the Art of Successdon’t bring lasting joy and emotional satisfaction. True success includes
deeply satisfying experiences and relationships in addition to short-
term happiness.WRIGHT
How do you define success for yourself?
POSEY^
For me, success is about being totally clear about what you want in
your life, what activities and things deeply emotionally satisfy you, and
th en creating ways to bring those th ings into your life consistently.
It has been said that success is a journey, not a destination and I
find that to be very true. Certainly having fun and engaging material
things, b eing a part of a meaningful community, and being someone
you feel good about are all important and could be considered
at tributes of success but is that all there is to life? Is it worth any
struggle or strife to achieve them? Or is true success about enjoying the
jo urney to these goals as well enjoying the path to achieving them and
growing within them?
I’m often asked if there is a wrong way to define success. Many
times I’m asked if it is wrong to want material goods or to want praise
and acknowledgment as part of being successful. In my opinion, there
is no wrong way to describe a successful life. True, some people want
lots of material things in their lives. Others desire freedom to spend
th eir time in ways that they enjoy. Others want lots of money in the
bank. To some, deep and wonderful relationships are part of success,
while others want to give back to their community. Still other people
want recognition and awards and notoriety. And many people want all
of those things and more. None of these is better or worse to want than
the other s. What matters is to know what satisfies you on a deep,
emotional level. What matters is to know what e xcites passion in you
without worrying about what someone else thinks. When you can let go
of caring about what others think about success and then discover what it
means for yourself, you are on the path to success.