If I asked you whether or not you were succeeding in life, what would you say?

Take a moment to really think about this question if you need to before proceeding.

I know some of you would immediately laugh and say: "No, obviously not. I'm failing."

Some of you might take a moment to think about it and state: "Well, I'm not doing terribly, but I could be doing better."

But truthfully, on both accounts, you're most likely giving an invalid answer.

Why? Because there's a good chance you forgot one step before answering.

By whose definition?

I was out to dinner with someone recently, someone who is attending university and went to an event to have tea with some professors.

One of the professors told her and the students present that in order to succeed in a career based on research, they'd have to forfeit their lives.

In other words: "If you want to succeed, you can't have a life."

As soon as she told me that this is what he said, something within me knew that there was something terribly wrong with his statement.

"That's a terribly pessimistic and bleak thing to say to your students," I scoffed.

"Imagine telling your students that if they wanted to succeed in their desired fields that they'd have to forfeit their lives outside of work.

Not only is that untrue, but it's also a very negative and close-minded perspective," I pressed on, passionately.

I don't remember exactly what she said in return, but she insisted that in his particular scenario that he was right.

Well, unfortunately for our professor here, he, too, missed the crucial step.

He gave a label to whether or not someone was successful before defining what "success" means.

And if you don't know what kind of goalposts you're aiming in between, there's a good chance you'll doom yourself to a sense of helplessness and misery.

Digging deeper: Could success just be a series of smaller victories?

When we think of what it means to be "successful," we often make the mistake of assigning it the "common definitions."

  • Being rich.
  • Being famous.
  • Being handsome/pretty.
  • Having a family.
  • Having your dream job.
  • Vacationing in the tropics.

And I don't blame you for jumping to these definitions. We get fed propaganda that these things are what it means to be successful, and sometimes, the only things.

However, in doing so, we forget about the remaining infinite number of definitions of "success."

We overlook the smaller wins and neglect them in favor of winning big.

And we think that if we don't score big, then we're not scoring at all.

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It is a most perilous trap to think that you're not succeeding just because you haven't made it big.

Let's zoom into your everyday life and allow me to really flip your perspective and show you what I'm talking about.

For simplicity's sake, I will only throw three forms of success your way.

I promise you that there is an infinite amount more.

I can easily start with one victory and form of success you have. It's probably something you take for granted.

Success #1: You're literate.

Maybe you're not able to write, but you're at least able to read these words.

Not everyone can read, and you being able to do so is a win.

  • You can comprehend the symbols and characters you see before you.
  • You have functioning eyeballs.
  • Your brain is able to process this information.

Wow, talk about wins within one win. See how I get to the "infinite amount?"

Here's another one you might've missed.

Success #2: You woke up this morning.

Some people die in their sleep.

Whether from an illness or being murdered overnight, not everyone gets to see their next day.

But you did. You lived to see tomorrow, which is now today, and every day that you're alive is a form of success.

You're breathing. You're present. You can think and understand what's written in front of you.

And you're doing great.

What else did you do today?

Success #3: You came home from school or from a long day at work.

You likely already know that school shootings are very unfortunately a thing in the U.S.

Maybe you don't live in the U.S., but for folks who do, it's sad to say, but it is a form of succeeding if you can make it back home alive from school.

And let's say you don't have to worry about that where you live. Well, you're also succeeding because you are getting an education.

You're learning more about the world and becoming smarter. If that's not a win, then what is?

And if you're out of school and you've come back home from a long day at work, then you're succeeding because you have a job.

You have an income and you apply yourself in a way that contributes to society.

How is that not winning in life?

Starting small adds up. So, Keep. Moving. Forward. ➡️

Hopefully I've shown you that "success" comes in many, many different forms.

Becoming a Michael Jackson or Tom Cruise aren't your only options.

You're doing well in more ways than you realize, so don't forget to give yourself a pat on the back every now and then.

This isn't to say to become arrogant and high off you brushing your teeth in the morning.

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While you're doing a good job with the small tasks, it helps to also set challenging yet beneficial goals so that you have something to strive for.

The world wouldn't get anywhere if we all sat on the couch, contented with the fact that we made it to the TV.

We move forward because we push ourselves and we endeavor to see what limits and definitions of success we can reach and break through.

If you're literate, why stop there? You have the ability to learn and maybe even write to share your knowledge with the world.

If you woke up this morning, why lay in bed all day? Why not brainstorm ways to finally launch that podcast you've been thinking about creating?

Don't limit yourself to the bare minimum of what you're capable of doing.

Don't beat yourself up for not becoming Gordon Ramsay overnight.

Nobody starts out that way, so we have to remember to keep a realistic timeline when it comes to hitting our goals.

And instead of just making one big goal of becoming, let's say, the greatest chef in the world, move your goalposts.

  • Maybe you can experiment and come up with a new dish.
  • Maybe you can start writing a cookbook and get that published.
  • Maybe you can get featured on a famous YouTube cooking channel.
  • Maybe you can do a collaboration with a well-known chef.

Don't forget that there are a lot of small steps to "winning" that come before the "big win" that we focus so much on.

When you leverage your smaller wins into achieving an even greater form of success,

perhaps that,

is the greatest form of success.