SUCCESS, DEFINED

Here is a chapter I am working of for my book, “ACHIEVERS” that will be coming out in June. I am looking for input on my definition of success that I gathered from the stories about people that I have written for the book.

Any ideas will be considered!

SYNOPSIS

“They went off to seek their fortune”

Seeking their fortune is the one thing all of the people in this book have in common. The idea of seeking ones’ fortune has been around for a long time. I think I first heard of it iin a child’s book about a yuoung man going off to seek his fortune. Generally speaking, that fortune would mean accumulation of wealth in the form of property and money. The people in this book also went out to seek their fortunes. However, their objectives weren’t just money, they saw several forms of wealth that when added up met their definition of success. They set short term and long goals to meet their big objective of being successful. As achievers, they are constantly pursuing meeting or building them for more wealth.   The common definition of wealth for these people is summarized as follows. It may not apply equally for all the people in the book, but is a consensus of what I learned by collecting their stories.

• Inner peace: Being at peace with one’s self is a major part of their wealth. These people are happy; it comes along with other capital below and, for most, a relationship with a higher power.

•  Education:  They built a wealth of education formally or informally. They have wisdom gained from school, reading and from interacting with people. They may have met one goal of a college degree or two, but would agree that life is a continuing learning quest that builds and maintains this wealth. This is essential to their ability to deal with life and its changes.

• Relationships:  Perhaps the biggest component of peace, they work to maintain healthy relationships with all the people in their lives. This includes forgiving and asking for     forgiveness from people, and focusing on others instead of themselves. They gained their relationships by helping other people and also found help from others when they needed it.  Here is an interesting quote I found on relationships: “People who uplift you are the best kind of people. You don’t simply keep them. You have to treasure them.” — Dodinsky , an author and poet.   The people in this book understand practice both sides of that; they give and receive encouragement from others.

• Financial capital:  Understanding the need for cash in our society, they have found honest means of procuring it to support themselves and their families. Their simple goal was to be as independent as possible by earning enough to pay their own way and support themselves. Some earned higher wealth than others, but all are meeting  the goal of being capable of taking care of their needs. Most of them enjoyed the ability to give to others too. They expressed gratitude for what they have and don’t waste time envying others who have more. I think all would agree that money doesn’t buy inner peace, but managing it properly does. Spending less than they earn is one of their primary goals. • Purpose: Somewhere along their way these people became passionate about a purpose. Usually it was to solve a problem in the world, whether by developing a product, help other people via non-profit work, or just serve their customers’ needs as best they could. And, they included employers and co-workers in their definition of customers. As they “came out of their self-interest” they gained peace and success.

All of the stories will deal with how these folks are “seeking their fortune” and how they are progressing on on their quest. Personally, I learned much from each of them and was constantly amazed  hearing their stories, their problems and how they found opportunities to succeed. I hope there is something in this book for all readers who are seeking success.