What is Success?

[GetBetter]

Okay, I know this is rather vague question, but I have been wondering for few days or maybe weeks what 'Success' actually means? From what I have learned, everyone wants success but they do not know what it actually means and hence run chasing 'money'; but that's not true success, is it?

I know this may sound absurd but I have been feeling that something big will happen in my life, I will reach new heights and it's going to be best feeling I have ever had, but not necessarily money related.

So yeah, 'What is Success'? How do I become successful?

 

[speed dawg]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90if6EPsgeQ

2:15

 

[BigSlick23]

Great question! A lot of people co relate success with money. Unfortunately chasing the paper is a big distraction. Everyone has their own view on success, if money is all you want and you finally get a grasp of if whats next? I've done a lot of research on what true success is and it all comes down to this. How happy are you? I've met homeless who have more fulfillment than the average 'rich guy'. If you fulfilled your true desires thats enough to be successful in my honest opinion.

 

[taiyuu_otoko]

Success is achieving what you've set out to achieve. It is a temporary state which hopefully will lead to the next target.

Someone who is "successful" is someone who consistently sets and achieves their own goals.

Someone who may be called a "success" would be someone who's very life turned out how they wanted it to.

I would say successful people achieve bigger and bigger goals throughout their lives, while people who call themselves "successes" tend to achieve longer lasting goals, like college education, stable family, house in the suburbs. (for example)

It's also crucial to understand that TRUE success MUST be self-defined.

Otherwise you are just pretending, and fooling yourself. This is why many rich people feel "empty." They are chasing external definitions of success without taking the time to choose what it means on their own.

There also preprogrammed instincts, (food, safety, sex, community etc) whose achievement "feels" like success, but are also temporary.

I believe that the ephemeral nature of success is rooted (on an evolutionary, genetic level) to our ancient nomadic nature, always traveling in search of better land, better game, better environments.

In those days, wealth=food, so they were always chasing wealth as well.

As modern humans, I believe our purpose in life is to first define what success means to us individually, and then chase it without quarter like our ancestors chased after zebras and wooly mammoths.

So the question really isn't, "What is success," rather, "What do you want?"

Success is when you get it.

 

[Cejay]

Picture 3 circles, over lapping so that there is a common middle part.

Each circle represents the following:

Top: Money
Left: Health
Right: Happiness/life satisfaction

The middle, would be an overlap of each topic.

For the most part each of these topics could also have 3 circles, overlapping to explain them. I can go into this if you want me to but I think it will be long.

If you have enough money to cover basic needs, savings + some extras
+
Your general, good health
+
Happiness (This is made up of some common basics: friends, family, reasonable commute, challenging/reward work, etc.)

When a balance of this comes together, then you are successful.


There are lots of unhappy rich people. THere are lots of happy poor people. Money IS A factor but not THE factor.

I was living the American dream. Hot wife, great job, huge debt, McMansion, toys, etc and I was miserable. Now my possessions fit in the back of an SUV + a trailer for 2 motorcycles.

Give "All that remains" a read, from theminimialists.com.

CJ.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Success to me is spending your life, for most part anyway, doing whatever it is you feel like doing at any given moment.

I'm not against work, sacrifice, or anything difficult - I just have to be in the mood.

 

[Jake722]

Okay, I know this is rather vague question, but I have been wondering for few days or maybe weeks what 'Success' actually means? From what I have learned, everyone wants success but they do not know what it actually means and hence run chasing 'money'; but that's not true success, is it?

I know this may sound absurd but I have been feeling that something big will happen in my life, I will reach new heights and it's going to be best feeling I have ever had, but not necessarily money related.

So yeah, 'What is Success'? How do I become successful?

Success to me is being happy. A lot will say being financially well of but there are tons of millionaires that are millionaires. I think success revolves around doing what you love to do every day, whatever that may be.

 

[:-)]

..................

 

[Tenacity]

Success is surely in the eyes of the beholder but to me you have two levels of success, you have "successful" and "thriving".

Success in terms of financial measures, using my definitions, I would say an individual is successful once they have reached the middle class. So for one individual living in a good cost of living area, that's making about $40,000 a year. I believe a person is thriving in terms of financial success, when they are making more than that at let's say close to $100k and over. If you are in a higher cost of living area I would adjust the values up about 25% higher to reflect the higher cost of living. Of course in connection with the income you have to have good budgeting and tax management skills so your costs are still low and you are saving at least 10% of your gross income a year, earning let's say at least 5% in growth on those funds a year.

So staying at the one individual with just $40k in gross income, saving 10% a year is $4k a year with the 5% growth rate. That's about $300k in 30 years at Retirement on top of the monies you will get from Social Security which let's say would be about, $1,600 a month. To me that's the basics of "success" and anything over that is "thriving".

This is basically middle class living for one individual. This is why if you start a family, it's best to do it with a woman that will also be making around the same income, let's say $40k a year gross so combined you guys are taking in $80k to almost $100k a year. Following the same formula you could easily create 2-3 kids, save for your retirement and put them something away to start out in college, maybe paying for their bachelor's degree.

 

[IHeartTrance]

Keeping the wife happy