Your Vision of Success

What Does Success Look Like for you? When was the last time you defined it for yourself? Why not take the opportunity right now to define what success means in each aspect of your life. In essence, clarify your vision of success.

Family—What is your ideal family situation? How far are you from that right now? What can you do to move closer to your ideal? Begin to think of the incremental steps you can take to move you in the direction you want to go.

In my case I began to notice that my 14 year-old daughter was slowly drifting away from me. I made a point to have a date night or spend one on one time doing something she enjoys each week. While I can’t make the situation exactly what I want, my actions are having a positive impact.

Primary Relationship—If you are in a primary relationship, how is it going? Do you get along? How about the physical attraction between you and your partner? Are you: intellectually stimulated? Enjoying life together? Appreciating each other? If your actual is significantly different from your ideal, what can you do to move things closer to your ideal? Begin to take action today.

Focusing on your primary relationship can be difficult especially if you are raising children. It’s easy to begin to take each other for granted. My wife and I get out without the children almost every week. I would like to be able to take vacation time alone with her, but this has proven to be a challenge. I am in the process of planning a trip and working though the logistics of getting friends and family to watch the children. The goal is to always be fueling the relationship.

Livelihood—Are you doing what you love? Is your compensation allowing you to live the life you desire? Do you derive satisfaction through your actions in the workplace? Do you enjoy working with your colleagues? If you’re not doing what you love, identify what that role would actually be. Seek out someone that’s in that position and ask if they will mentor you. You may find out that your desire is not as glamorous as what you envisioned or it may be a perfect fit. The benefit is that you get a glimpse of what lies ahead if you choose to pursue your desire.

If you are in an industry that you enjoy but are not happy with the position or a particular aspect of your role, now may be a good time to ask for what you want. As world economies improve, as they have in the U.S., many industries find themselves having difficulty attracting and retaining talented employees. The balance of power has shifted in the employee’s direction. If your situation at work is less than ideal, consider exerting your influence on the powers that be to make some concessions for you.

Leisure Time—Are you following your passions or are you watching other people’s lives (either real or make-believe) play out on your media device? Have you defined the experiences you’d like to have? Created your bucket list? If you’ve defined them, are you actually having these experiences? If not, are you taking the necessary steps to make the arrangements? First identify you passions. What are those amazing experiences you want to have? Make a plan to carry them out. Block the time in your calendar, make reservations, do whatever is necessary to move forward. Follow your plan while remaining focused on the outcome.

As you look at each aspect of your life, identify that which you can influence. Use that influence to continually effectuate the changes you need to move toward your vision of success. Understand that few things happen immediately. Be patient. Be disciplined. Be focused.