Success - What Is It And Why Is It Necessary?

What is success? Many people have different definitions of success, but they all agree that it is a state of being capable of accomplishing a particular activity or task. Success is often used in business and organizations to mean the ability to produce a product or accomplish an assignment. Some people believe that success is simply reaching your potential. Others believe that success is measuring what you do now, versus your past efforts. Still others define success as the result of achieving excellence in a particular area.


Success can be described in many ways. It can be viewed as the culmination of a set of goals. This definition is important because it allows people to focus on what they need to do to reach their goals. It also allows them to measure success based on past achievements rather than future goals. The standards for success can be relative to a specific frame of reference and can vary greatly from an individual to another.

Defining success requires defining what it is to do, as well as why you are doing it. The purpose of this exercise is not to tell you what you should do or why you should do it, but to provide you with the best answers to the questions you might ask if you were thinking about how to define success. Questions such as: How can I be successful in my field or business? What makes a person successful? And most importantly: What are the best answers to these questions?

There are many examples of successful people. Think about all the sports figures and celebrities you know. There are even hall of fame lists dedicated to those whose names grace the shelves in department stores and bookstores. Most successful people are not born into success; they work for it. In other words, by definition, success means working for it.

Now let's take a look at this same question with a different lens. What if the definition of success was not about earning or creating wealth, but rather about growth and development? Would that even make any sense at all? If we return to the idea of hard work, what would the definition be then? Would it still make any sense at all?

The fact of the matter is that you cannot separate hard work from achievement. Hard work is an essential component for success, but only represents a small portion of the total answers to the question of why some people are successful and others aren't. In addition, the real answer to why some people are successful and others aren't is found in your mental makeup. It is a combination of your beliefs and your emotional intelligence. Your emotional intelligence refers to the ability to understand and manage yourself and your emotions. Your beliefs are the core foundation on which your personal success is built.

And this is where the problems begin. A lot of people ask the question "what is success" and then expect the government or anyone else to define it for them. However, this is not how to live. Instead, you have to ask yourself and then find a way to convince yourself and convince your friends and family that having a good set of goals and a strong sense of purpose is more important than earning a six figure salary.


So the next time you're asked the question "what is success?" take some time and really think about what you want to become and how you want to get there. Then use those questions and examples to define success for yourself and then set some goals that will help you reach your own vision. You will find that over time, your goals will become much easier to achieve. And that in itself will help you to feel more satisfied with your life and your job.