Success is a renewable resource, a fuel that energises and enlivens us. It is an enabler of potential, drawing our best to the forefront. But it is not external; it comes from within and is the reward for our hard work. So in business, your goal should be for every person to be a success. And the impact that will have on your business will astound you.
Active Knowledge Question:
How do you define success in your business, and is it limited to only a select few?
Only For The Few
Many people in business believe that success is defined by the position you hold in the business hierarchy, reflecting status and level of remuneration. And that those who wish to be successful should strive to advance to a higher level.
But this is a very limiting and disempowering view of success. It is disempowering for the potential that resides in a business.
Most businesses only use a fraction of the potential within the persons who work within and with that business. Success comes in many shapes and sizes, and every individual should be encouraged and enabled to achieve success in their individual lives as successful people bring many benefits to the business in which they work.
Do you want people coming to work every day fulfilled and excited or simply because they need the money? The choice is yours as you set the scene in which everyone works.
What Really Is Success?
Success should be viewed as a whole of life experience and not restricted to promotion within your business. Doing such only limits the possibility for someone achieving success and certainly doesn’t improve the performance of your business; in fact, it does the exact opposite.
Success is, quite simply, achieving what you set out to achieve. I know it won’t surprise you, but you don’t have to be the wealthiest person in the world, have the most possessions, visit the most countries, or have the most experiences to consider yourself successful. It is, however, society’s – and therefore ours, if you don’t stop and think about it – view that success is measured by wealth, position, power and all the ‘things’ they can buy. On these rules, success is always comparative and a competition based on who has the most. This is a game you do not want to play if you seek a life of enduring success.
At the end of each day, you want to feel a real satisfaction in the effort you have put in and the rewards you have achieved. You want to feel an abundance within, a real joy and quiet knowing that you have worked hard for the rewards earned. This is what achievement and being successful is all about.
Wealth is, at best, an outcome – a product of being successful. But it is not the ultimate outcome that everyone seeks. Wealth is pursued as a means to an end. Often that end involves things such as a magnificent home, an expensive car, overseas travel to the best destinations. But is this really what is sought from success?
I believe the real end sought is the freedom to pursue and achieve happiness in life. Society tells us to chase wealth as this will provide us with freedom, and the wealth can be spent on all the things that can deliver that happiness. But I don’t think any of us are silly enough to believe that wealth will, by itself, deliver a life of enduring happiness and success.
We really just want the freedom to do more of the things that give us joy. It sounds a bit corny in today’s society to say, “I just want to be happy.” But in all honesty, it is what our heart searches for, and it’s why we ‘buy’ all the things in our life, as we think they will bring joy to us. And maybe they do for a fleeting moment. But enduring happiness comes from within and cannot be sold or purchased. It is created by you through the pursuit of a life of enduring success and is a renewable resource that comes from within and will become your fuel for life.
In business, you want every person working within and with your business to succeed in whatever activity they choose to invest themselves in. Success seeds confidence, contribution and participation. Successful people contribute more to everything they are involved in, including any business in which they may work no matter what their role may be.
Always remember, people are the core competitive strength within any business.
Champions Of Success
Successful people can have a profound effect on your business, bearing in mind that successful people will exist at every level of your business. Success is not about being at the top – it’s about whom you are as a person and having the Achiever Trait.
A successful person can be a light within a community or organisation. They:
- Do not rely upon others for their identity.
- Are open and strong and provide leadership.
- Understand the power of words and apply them accordingly.
- Adopt habits to reinforce their success.
- Grow and connect with other successful people.
- Give thanks and give to others.
- Are confident but never prideful or arrogant.
Successful people have an invaluable and critical leadership role. They:
- Develop other people’s ability to be successful.
- Connect people with the organisation’s purpose and goals at the individual, team, corporate and community level.
- Lead by example and create a culture of success through being successful themselves.
They are able to connect people – by having answered for themselves and allowing others to answer – critical questions, including:
- Where am I going? What is my direction?
- Why am I going there? What is its meaning to me, and why does it motivate me?
- How am I going to get there? Do I have a plan to execute?
- What is going to stop me? Do I recognise the difficulties and barriers and how to overcome them?
Individuals who feel connected to a business or community and achieve success through that connection are critical to competitive organisations.
Set The Benchmark For Success
From the day we are born, I believe we are taught to look at success through the achievements of others. “See what they achieved?” and “Why can’t you be as good as them?” are common put-downs. We are taught to measure our success against the achievements of others. And while it is good to acknowledge how well someone else does, it is not necessarily a healthy way to develop our own sense of success.
This approach also leads to measuring success on simple metrics: money, position and power. It does not support individuals to recognise their own personal strengths and build a successful life upon those elements unless they can be converted into money, position, and power.
I believe that there is a natural potential for great success within every person that is unique to them. Who is to say that what you find joy in, where your natural areas of success lie, is not as ‘worthwhile’ as something our wealth-driven society cherishes?
Great success for you lies in identifying that uniqueness and exploring the journey of stretching and leveraging your unique gifts for all you can. Success lies in individual choices, consciously and unconsciously, that determine the path of the journey we are on. Please note the emphasis on stretching and leveraging. A life of enduring success requires hard work and will not just be handed to you on a plate. Once you know where you want to go, you must take it to the limit and beyond and not just think it will come with ease.
Success is never about the destination. Success is all about the journey. Therefore, enjoy every moment of the journey and each key milestone as you reach and pass them.
Success must ultimately come down to one single measure: your degree of happiness. And a life of enduring success is a life of enduring happiness. Finally, remember that your journey never ends. No matter where you may be on your journey, there is always another step, another leg and even, perhaps, a new journey. The mantra ‘better every day’ in everything that you do has no end.
In your business, search out and celebrate the various successes that individuals have in their lives. And through such encourage every person to excel.
Every individual person has unique talents that can allow them to live a life of enduring success. A core cultural trait of your business should be to enable every person to be a success. And the flow-on impact in your business will take it to heights your never thought possible.
An entirely new level of performance.
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All the best in the success of your business,
Richard Shrapnel
