Lately, I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be successful. Who defines your level of success? Is it something you strive to reach, or something that merely happens to you when you find something you are both good at and enjoy?

Many people define success in terms of money and/or status. If you have a high paying job you must be successful, right? What about the underpaid teacher who is excited to go to work every morning, who teaches children to read and write - is she/he successful?

Success has less to do with your job title, or your take-home pay and more to do with how you view your life and your work. You certainly don’t have to be wealthy to feel fullfilled and joyful. Having a fancy title before your name doesn’t make you talented, or successful. Some of the most intelligent and innovative people I have known in my life are not famous or rich and probably never will be. They are successful because they follow their own path with vigor and continually strive to be the best - whatever that may mean to them. They create their own definition of success.

If we don’t accept other peoples’ definitions of success, then perhaps our own version will be all the more sweeter to enjoy. Maybe success for you is raising well rounded children, or tending to a fruitful garden year after year. Define success for yourself and see how your goals may change.

“Don’t aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.”
- David Frost

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