Success is personal! What one person views as a failure, another can view as success beyond their wildest dreams.
The trick is understanding what your vision of success is and having a method of measuring it, so you know if you have achieved it or not.
It is up to every person to clearly define what is important to them. What good looks like, what great looks like, and their definition of success.
Too many of us do not do this.
We base our vision of success based upon other people’s achievements. We cannot judge our success based others, e.g., Grant Cardone, Sir Richard Branson, Sara Blakley, or Bill Gates.
We cannot judge our success based on other people’s highlight reel.
Yes, from the outside, all of these people have achieved success based on outward appearances, but we have no idea if they have achieved success on their terms.
We do not know what their individual goals are – and what measuring stick they are using to determine success.
For all we know, Elon Musk may consider himself a failure if he never creates a colony on Mars in his lifetime.
It is up to all of us to determine our vision of success and then articulate it to those who can help us in a way that allows them to be part of our success.
The key to this is understanding not everyone wants to be part of your vision, nor do they care.
You need to be okay with this.
There will always be those who do not believe what you believe, do not care about what you care about, and may care about something contradictory to your vision.
In truth, there will be way more of those people in the world than those who embrace your ideas. I am fond of saying that everyone with a heartbeat and a credit card is not your customer. Those who you can serve are those who see value in your purpose and your vision, and believe that you are the one who can help them solve their issues.
In the end, it is about who you can genuinely help and how you do that.
Who are the people who believe you are valuable to them?
Who are the people who believe what you do and why you do it helps them achieve their goals?
That is a limited number of people. Those are the people to focus on.
On everyone else, your message is lost. You may be able to convert some of them, but more than likely, the cost in time, energy, and money will not be worth it.
So the answer is to understand, fundamentally, who are the people who share your vision of success?
Who are the people who believe what you believe? The people who want what you want and believe you have the skills and understanding to help them achieve their goals?
It is about finding people with a shared vision, which won’t be everyone.
How do you find those people?
Truthfully, they will find you!
Your job is to tell your story and share your vision effectively, authentically, and passionately.
Show people what you believe in and why. Let them see how you do what you do, and how you have helped people like them. As Seth Godin says, find your tribe. Find the people who already believe what you believe and let them tell their friends and acquaintances about you, because they generally have similar viewpoints.
Your influence will grow through the work you do and being consistently you. Live your vision and values and do the hard work every day to help those you can succeed.
There is no hack, and there is no shortcut to success. It is about leadership, vision, trust, and communication.
Here is wishing everyone health, safety, and long-term success.
Connect with Ben HERE to discuss how to provide your people with the skills and mindset they need to lead teams effectively into the new normal.
