“There’s no elevator to success you have to take the stairs”
Most of us desire success in one form or another. Some just daydream about it, while some work day and night to make it happen. We live in a society where having money and materialistic things define success. This ideology usually comes from the media, TV and movies portrayal of success to the mass audience. These images can sometimes alter the way we look at success.
However, success can be defined in many different ways some may see it as being able to spend their time free time enjoying the simple things in life. Others may see success in the acquisition of knowledge, growth and understanding. For me “success” means being able to wake up every day with a smile on my face doing the things that I love i.e. writing and being a positive outlet for as many people as I can. I go into more detail about success in my latest podcast “How Do You Define Success”?
How do you define success? Comment below.
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I define success with personal satisfaction of the thing in question. Success is relative, at least in my opinion it is. My boyfriend and I certainly have two different views of success. I don’t think either of us is right or wrong. I just think we have different perceptions and expectations.
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Very true defining success is an subjective answer because everyone looks at it differently. Thanks for sharing your opinion!
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I red with this point of view. For some, success is measured in things, money, milestones, etc. Personally, I measure success in relation to personal satisfaction, happiness, and acceptance of myself. To each their own!
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Success is definitely subjective. And for a long time, I made life decisions based off of how my family defines success. It lead me down an unhappy road. I love that success to you is also being a positive outlet to others. I think you absolutely are and your posts encourage and motivate. Thank you for sharing.
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Great insight & thank you I really appreciate your kind words!
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Success used to be me getting that next promotion or working towards it to give my family the life style we are used to having. After losing our oldest son 11/10/15 in a horrific accident, my definition of success has changed dramatically. I now define my success as making it through my days without breaking down over my loss, as my two children here on earth being successful in school and their current relationships, as being more with my family than being at a desk that will only in the end provide the means in which to lay me to rest. So I guess you could say, success can change as you grow older and experience situations you are either ready for or not. Just my two cents 🙂
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Very true our life experience does change how we view success!
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I nominated you for one lovely blog award. http://www.multipleexperiences.org/?p=1432&preview=true
I’ve really enjoyed reading your posts. You have great topics and thoughtful insights
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Like your definition for success. Ones to follow. There is something about hitting the pillow at night knowing we tried our best.
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You’re absolutely right doing our best is all we can do!
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I think success is when you achive your desire goal then we called it success right..
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Great point thanks for reading!
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Freedom. In other words, being able to call the shots in your life. I’m not quite there yet…
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Understand because for many us that’s all we want. Thanks for reading!
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I define success as being able to take care of myself, my family, and my household without handouts or debt. Because we’re paying off a lot of debt right now, my mind turns everything financially.
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Jay your ideas of success is awesome. Money and things are now as important anymore. Family, giving service, sharing knowledge and traveling are passions of mine now.
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Success is when we keep working towards our desires while having the gift of a good night’s sleep every day 🙂
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I define success as being all I can be in the highest and best way I can in this moment. I love knowing that I can still learn something new, which can then be applied in some meaningful way to raise the quality of life for the people I spend a lot of time with…people living with dementia. I do this on a volunteer basis, because I have enough to spread around. Success is feeling like you are walking on a cloud because you realize why you are here!
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Success comes when the mindset is focus on what success is for you.
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Very true!
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Indeed
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well for me, It’s about shaping my own destiny. To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. It’s so transitory. #JayColby kindly follow me 🙂
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wel said guy.love it
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Thank you!
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For me, success involves having a sense of personal fulfilment
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I agree thanks for sharing!
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Success is different for everybody. For me, as long as I’m at peace within and full of joy i made it ! 😂😂 everything else falls into place when I work for it
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Great post. Comments even better. Will follow to keep up with you.
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Thank you I appreciate that.
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success – health, family and financial freedom.
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Thanks for sharing!
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Very thought provoking Jay. This is my perspective on it, as I disagree with some of it.
While it sounds nice that we have to take the stairs to be successful, there are people who just take the elevator. This has been the history of the US since its beginning. We live in a world based on racism, sexism, and classism. Whiteness is an elevator ride to success. Being a man is an elevator ride to success. Having rich parents is an elevator ride to success. Everyone else, to varying degrees, has to take the stairs. In some instances, there are no stairs at all and people are stuck.
Consider the fact that 80% of the jobs people receive were never posted online … they simply knew someone who worked there. These are elevator rides to success. Black folks with no criminal records are less likely to get jobs than white folks with records. We have to account for the structural influence of success as well – as the system shapes the individual.
Keep up the good work bro!
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Success is relative in that for some they measure it based on their bank account and the size of it, others by the quality of their relationships, or their spiritual life. I am redefining it for myself, so maybe it is an evolution, in terms of defining it.
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Success is achieving one’s predestined purpose.
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I think it is such a subjective topic. For me success is when I know I have tried all I can and still haven’t given up. It the action that defines it for me, not the end result.
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But money is a great big part of it… The Bible even says money answers all things
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U are bringing in Myles Munroe definition of success which I don’t totally agree with just like when he said that we shouldn’t die old but we should die empty
I mean I wanna live a fulfilled old man like chinua Achebe. What do you think.
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http://kaycee.wordpress.com
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I like your work keep it up Bro!
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Thanks brotha
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It is my feeling is that true success occurs when a person finds it fulfilling and necessary to reach out in positive ways to people…the impoverished, the disabled, the children, the wealthy, the mistreated, the mentally unstable, the common man that you meet daily. How can you possibly count yourself among the successful until you understand humanity. Otherwise, a person is an egocentric entity in constant rotation around himself or herself. Making large sums of money is a possible attainment, but it must be through legal ways and through an attitude of service. As a former teacher, one way that I felt successful in my career was because I knew that my job meant way more to me than just going to work. It meant that I had the opportunity each day to impact a child or a parent in a life changing way.
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Success is how we define it. Can be our career, financial stability, family, it all depend on one’s perspective. But if we try to look at it deeply, it’s always linked to satisfaction. Great Post!
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Success to me is achieving my goals and doing whatever makes me happy in life, which means living on my own terms.
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I would agree with most of the other comments! Success is a relative term. My definition isn’t even the same as some of my family members lol. I wouldn’t say that success depends on hard work. Sometimes it seems like success just falls into an individual’s lap while the next person is taking the stairs to reach it. I like to think of it in terms of the Alchemist if you find your personal destiny you’ve found success. Thanks for sharing!
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To me, success will be having the freedom to live the life I envision without limitation.
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I’m with you, Jay. Success to me is having peace of mind and being happy. Everything else is just a compliment.
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Success to me means pushing through and celebrating even my smallest wins. I am teaching my children the same. Even a small success is a success.
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I define success as being about to be a blessing to other people while taking care of my family too.
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Nice Topic!!! I am learning everyone’s definition of success is different! But I like how you said you have to take the stairs there is no easy way to it!!
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Successful living changes as we grow and get wiser. Now, having healthy well educated children who love me is my definition. However, when I was in college my definition was very different.
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Man if only we could take the elevators to success. We all (unless born affluent with generational wealth) are taking some long stairs to success. I bet it will be worth the climb to the top.
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My definition of success is constantly changing. It is a very temporary feeling because I set my eyes on something else.
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I believe success and contentment go hand in hand….waking up feeling happy and content, doing what you love!
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Can one be a success with contentment?
I believe if am contented with thingsaround me upon waking up, why would I bother to work harder? Why will I make today better than yesterday?
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Hey! Idk, I think you can be content and still wait with anticipation for what’s to come in the future…being content (in my eyes) means that you’re grateful for where you are in life… I think you can be happy and still be open to better things.
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True .. there is no elevator .. Bigger the success , more the stairs one needs to climb and harder the struggle ! 🙂
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Success, to me, is: Getting my purpose in life
Doing it
And, helping others around me achieve their dream everyday.
Success, is never a destination. It’s a journey.
I used to think achieving dream is a success. But, what happened after the dream has been achieved? I ll find myself another dream to achieve.
Thanks Jay for dt. Thumb’s up
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inner happiness, loving yourself and the mark you are leaving in this world
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I agree with your point of view on success. Every day we are shown only one parameter of success that is access and ownership of material wealth. No matter what is the price. I would like to have wealth, but will it be acquired over dead body, will it be acquired through deceit, through cheating? I hope not. I would like to wake up without a headache and I would like to go to work with my head held high.
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When it comes to gauging whether or not someone else is successful, I generally look at their happiness level and how they impact the world. For example, I don’t think someone is very successful if they have a ton of money, a business empire, and a good looking spouse, but they treat other people like crap. I think a big part of being successful is using your gifts to make the world a better place for everyone, not just your little group.
As far as how I define success for myself, I guess the guidelines are just about the same. To me, being successful means not having to spend every waking moment working for someone else’s dream. A lot of people give me weird looks and think I’m crazy for saying I love working part-time and can’t imagine having to go back full time. I do make less money than I used to when I worked like crazy, but I realized something. I don’t need very much “stuff” to be happy. What makes me happy is volunteering, having new experiences, seeing new things, and learning. I need money for some of those things, but I’d rather forgo having “luxuries” like cable or a smartphone to be able to work less and have more freedom to pursue my passions. For some people, this is owning a business, where they can do what they love and also make money. For me, even owning a business becomes work. If you really love what you’re doing, but the money is not coming in, that can be a stressor. I prefer to just work minimally, enough to pay the bills, and spend the rest of my time being able to unplug from work while doing things I enjoy. Some people love running a business, and boy am I grateful for those hardworking folks. I don’t think it’s for me though. My kind of success would be more being able to stand on my own (think: growing my own food, being able to live off the land, ect.) than having to make a profit, but I don’t knock someone else who finds success in those things. Everyone has their own happiness. I hate it that people will basically tell me that my idea of success is garbage, and how could I ever stand to make less money and not have all of the things that they have. I just have a different outlook, that’s all.
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Pingback: How You Define Success? – Grand Esteem
Success is when you reach a state of contentment about yourself.
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