Ok- now we know how to spell it- but how do we define it?  Success, like love, is a concept that has more than one meaning, it   and can be interpreted in myriad ways.  For today, because you know this will morph into a multi part series when people raise questions and points, and add to the growing list of interpretations, and I will be “forced” to write a follow-up.

So, if you want to play- think about what your definition of success is.  You don’t need to write it down, but keep it in your thoughts.

Now, I’m going to start off with some quotes I found about success.  I am going to say that the authors of these quotes could be considered successful people.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts” Winston Churchill

“Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure. loyalty, and persistence” Colin Powell

“Success is not the key to happiness.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” Albert Schweitzer

“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.” Bobby Unser

“Success is a journey, not a destination.  The doing is often more important than the outcome.”  Arthur Ashe

“Success is a science: if you have the conditions, you get the results.” Oscar Wilde

“Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time.” George Bernard Shaw

“Success isn’t measured by money or power or social rank.  Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace.” Mike Ditka

“Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.” George S. Patton

“Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” John Wooden

Think about your definition.  Is it similar to what’s above?  Or did you mention money or winning somewhere in your definition?  I asked a bunch of people what success is, and most of them mentioned money, fame or winning (FYI- this poll was completely unscientific- there was no control group, it was not really a random sampling)

But what I learned in my 15 minutes of research on this topic is: success is perseverance.  Success is setting a goal and working towards it, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you will be the best, or win, or be famous or make money.  It means you gave it all you had, you didn’t let mistakes deter you and you were resilient.

And in a backhanded way, success means you have failed at some point.

I think people have trouble grasping failure (and yes- I wrote about failure being an option- still one of my favorite posts).  Yet, without failure, can there really be success?  Does anyone ever just go out and do something perfectly the first time?  Doesn’t everything require practice to a certain extent?

Ok- so here’s the homework:  Come up with your own definition of success, and recognize all the times you have been successful. (just remember- every time you post a blog you have succeeded- you put thoughts on a page and exposed them to the world- think about how many people do not hit publish)  I think we all tend to focus on the failures, without comprehending the lessons that we learned from those failures.  Let’s put some spin on our internal thinking.

Attitude is the key to success.

What do you all think?

 

 

 

31 thoughts on “S-U-C-C-E-S-S That is How You Spell Success”

  2. In degrees Success is unique to the Successor is it not!! From conquoring a mountain, an exam or a task that has previously evaded somebody. That Eureka moment you jump up an yell! “I got it!!”

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  4. Am I allowed to respond given we talked about this one together? Just wanted to make everyone else jealous of our time! 😛

    Ummm…. I agree, persistence is a piece of success. But if you are persistent, it’s often because you have a goal, so you have a stronger ability to succeed when you want it than when you don’t.

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  11. Success means finding my way back to the person I used to be, wanted to be and need to be. I’m on the road, don’t know if, or when, I’ll get there, but I think there will be success in the trying as well 🙂

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  14. Success for me is achieving something I’m happy with. All those successes add up to make “the big” success, which is a life well lived.

    My dad used to say that the way to get whatever you were going for was to remember to be Patient, Polite, and Persistent.

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  15. Pingback: 365 Challenge: Day 228 – Manipulate « This Is My Truth Now

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