A Better Measure of Success
A Better Measure of Success
Perhaps it's indicative that this celebrity-obsessed culture produced freshmen defining success in terms of money and notoriety, putting the value of "a meaningful philosophy of life" 40% lower than their counterparts four decades ago. While the article posed interesting research on this up-and-coming group, it got me thinking about success.
What is success, anyway? What does it mean to be successful? Is the appearance of success, like wealth or fame, the same as being successful? Who is successful and who isn't? And who determines it?
If both wealth and fame are the parameters by which success is to be judged, then Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa and Gandhi would not be in the success hall of fame. Nor would Susan B. Anthony, Abraham Lincoln or Rosa Parks. Yet these people positively changed the world.
So have scores of inventors, teachers, writers, musicians, scientists, designers, builders, doctors, leaders, parents and engineers. But they weren't rich and famous, and no magazines devoted pages to their day-to-day sightings.
Yet without their achievements, the conveniences we take for granted, the technologies that save our lives, and the endeavors that engage our souls wouldn't exist. Things like: airplanes, x-rays, medicines, bridges, post-it-notes, cell phones, movies, music, books, microwaves, computers, prosthetics, fashions and ATMs, to name but a few.
Every day, people who are winning at working focus on new ideas, break-through technologies and solutions to global problems. They focus on child-rearing, firefighting, and community building. They focus on education, service and healing. They don't have household names and may struggle to pay the mortgage, but they're successful.
You see there's a better definition of success, and people who are winning at working know it. Success is not about the money. It's not about the recognition or the glory or the fame. It's not about an outward measure someone else establishes. And while money, recognition, and fame may come to people who are winning at working, the difference is this: it's not the goal. It's a by-product of their passionate endeavors, hard work, ongoing efforts and achievements.
For people who are winning at working, success is an inner measure of passionately doing what they are able to do, making a difference with their lives and maximizing their gifts and talents. They measure success by leaving the world a bit better for having been here.
(c) 2007 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.
A Better Measure of Success - To learn more about this author, visit Nan Russell's Website.
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The headline caught my eye, "The Goal: Wealth and Fame." The article in USA Today examined a recent survey of top life goals for the college-age crowd. It surprised me that there was a 33% jump, today versus thirty-eight years ago, in beliefs of college freshman that being financially well off was "essential" or "very important." But what surprised me more was their desire to be famous.
Perhaps it's indicative that this celebrity-obsessed culture produced freshmen defining success in terms of money and notoriety, putting the value of "a meaningful philosophy of life" 40% lower than their counterparts four decades ago. While the article posed interesting research on this up-and-coming group, it got me thinking about success.
What is success, anyway? What does it mean to be successful? Is the appearance of success, like wealth or fame, the same as being successful? Who is successful and who isn't? And who determines it?
If both wealth and fame are the parameters by which success is to be judged, then Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa and Gandhi would not be in the success hall of fame. Nor would Susan B. Anthony, Abraham Lincoln or Rosa Parks. Yet these people positively changed the world.
So have scores of inventors, teachers, writers, musicians, scientists, designers, builders, doctors, leaders, parents and engineers. But they weren't rich and famous, and no magazines devoted pages to their day-to-day sightings.
Yet without their achievements, the conveniences we take for granted, the technologies that save our lives, and the endeavors that engage our souls wouldn't exist. Things like: airplanes, x-rays, medicines, bridges, post-it-notes, cell phones, movies, music, books, microwaves, computers, prosthetics, fashions and ATMs, to name but a few.
Every day, people who are winning at working focus on new ideas, break-through technologies and solutions to global problems. They focus on child-rearing, firefighting, and community building. They focus on education, service and healing. They don't have household names and may struggle to pay the mortgage, but they're successful.
You see there's a better definition of success, and people who are winning at working know it. Success is not about the money. It's not about the recognition or the glory or the fame. It's not about an outward measure someone else establishes. And while money, recognition, and fame may come to people who are winning at working, the difference is this: it's not the goal. It's a by-product of their passionate endeavors, hard work, ongoing efforts and achievements.
For people who are winning at working, success is an inner measure of passionately doing what they are able to do, making a difference with their lives and maximizing their gifts and talents. They measure success by leaving the world a bit better for having been here.
(c) 2007 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.
A Better Measure of Success - To learn more about this author, visit Nan Russell's Website.
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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