The Ultimate Guide To Success In Business (And Everything Else)

Making a success of yourself isn’t something that happens overnight. It’s a life-long project: something you have to commit to through time. 

But how do you get there? 

Define What Success Means To You

What is success? Well, society certainly has some ideas on the topic. It’s people with lots of money at the top of their fields, passing out commandments to legions of workers. 

But when you explore the lives of these people a little more deeply, you find that they still have big problems. Elon Musk is famous for telling people not to try to emulate his life, even though he is worth billions. 

The trick to success is to define what it means to you and stick to that definition doggedly, no matter what the rest of the world might say. For instance, if you have enough money to do all the things that you want to do, that is success.

Success is essentially being content with what you have. Success is not continually hunkering after more. That’s the treadmill life. 

Unsplash – CC0 License

Take Stock

A lot of people go through life without ever really taking stock of where they are where they could go. We tend to ignore the fact that we have limited time because thinking about our mortality is depressing. But it’s a tool some of the most successful people in history used to adjust their mindset. Steve Jobs apparently reminded himself that he was going to die every day, telling himself that all other challenges he might face paled in comparison to that. 

Taking stock means looking at where you are right now and where you could be if you were to apply yourself fully. 

Take entrepreneur Shawn Meaike, for instance. He worked in a regular job for thirteen years building the skills and knowledge that we would need to set out by himself. He then founded his own company that generates substantial wealth, providing him with a better life. Biding your time is okay. But, at some point, you need to strike and just do what you need to do. 

Create A Better Set Of Goals

Unsplash – CC0 License

We think that getting money is the arbiter of success. But money is just a method of accounting. It’s no different from inches along a ruler. It’s a way of measuring things. Real wealth is the stuff that you actually have in your life. This could include: 

• Material possessions
• Peace of mind
• Close relationships
• Free time
• The chance to have fun

Wealth, therefore, is not just about what you own – it’s about all these other intangible things as well. And you can have those without seven figures in your brokerage account. 

Unsplash – CC0 License

But what does it take to create a better set of goals? It means being honest about the things that you really want in your life. You might think that you want money. But perhaps what you actually want is freedom or the ability not to have to worry about your bills. 

That’s why people see success as a life-long project. It requires continually having honest conversations with yourself about what it means to you.