04 Jul The Quest for Success

If you will spend just few hours on Facebook, you will encounter the word “SUCCESS” several times. The word is commonly associated with inspiration, goal, future and life. At some point, success is overrated by those who are earning money from their business. When someone graduated from college, it is also called success. The pilot, after experiencing multiple air pockets, successfully brought the airline passengers home safely. I think, the definition of success depends on who is doing the work and the desired end result.

Remember these words: accomplishment, achievement, attainment.

Success is when you set a goal and you reached it. Everyone looks up to you because you accomplished a great work. You received an award because of your exemplary performance. You hit your sales quota then you are successful. There has to be a clear end line where you can say, “We didn’t just make it to the finals, we got the championship!” The scary part of setting goals is when you don’t know where to stop. Success, as well as winning, is addictive. After each goal, we may be tempted to raise the bar, until we become unsatisfied with little and crave for more. It’s good to chase success as long us it won’t consume us.

In one of my public talks, a student courageously asked me how he can be successful as I am. I was stunned with the question because my topic was about communications. I hope I can still remember the exact words I said:

“First of all, I don’t consider myself successful. I look at success as something like an end line. Most of us may forget about the success of someone but we won’t ever forget those who helped us, especially in times of need. I just chose purpose and significance over success. When you work, make purpose your priority. You’ll never be wrong with that.”

Before you chase success, you must have a clear definition of what you would like to be or have. The quest can be unending, tiring and frustrating. Find out what will make you happy and what you can be generous of.