Success Your Way

“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth” – Henry David Thoreau

There are four definitions for success in the Oxford Dictionary:

1. The accomplishment of an aim or purpose:
2. The attainment of fame, wealth, or social status
3. A person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains fame, wealth, etc
4. The good or bad outcome of an undertaking

What is your definition of success?  Is it a cookie cutter picture like others in your life or is it uniquely you?

My picture used to be cookie cutter.  In a nutshell, it was be the top in my field, make “big bucks”, make a difference in the lives of others and live happily ever after. When I became successful and a Chief Operating Officer of a non-profit, I didn’t feel like a success.  I couldn’t or didn’t want to see myself as others saw me.  I was content to be in the corner letting others receive the accolades.

When I entered the world of direct sales, my picture of success was a cookie cutter.  Yup, I am a people pleaser and didn’t really think about what I wanted.  I had forgotten how to dream and define success for me.  Over the last six months, things have changed.  I can’t explain it.  I don’t know if it is a result of the health issues or creeping up on 60 years old or whether I am just seeing myself as others see me.

I have done a lot of digging, and I want my success to be defined as what feels fulfilling and meaningful to me.  Ultimately, the traditional definition of success just does not feed my soul or offer any long term fulfilment and joy – for me.  Traditional markers of success are about how the world perceives us and seldom takes into consideration how we feel about ourselves, our life or our work.

I have played the comparison game and so have you, where we have compromised our health, our relationships, and our wellbeing to reach someone else’s definition of success. We have ignored our own values so we could be accepted by others instead of building our own success dream. As a result, we find ourselves with a life which is exhausting and unfulfilling.

Building your own approach to success isn’t easy.  I regularly battle with Negative Nellie and Perfect Polly.  They are the inner gremlins who want me to continue to be a cookie cutter model of success.  How have I began building my own approach to success? I want to share with you some things which have helped me to find some peace in my world:

Contentment: Do I feel satisfied in my day-to-day life? Even when the stressors and challenges can’t be avoided, am I content with how I am spending my days?

Purpose:  Is my life all about me or is it bigger than just myself and my own needs? Am I am contributing to the world in a way which fulfills my purpose in life?

Passion: Am I excited about my work and my life? Am I eager to get up and start the day?

Joy: Am I happy with my life?  Maybe not every single second of every single day, but do I find joy and pleasure in my life on a regular basis?

Stability: Am I financially stable? Am I making smart decisions with my finances?

Personal growth: Am I open to changing, and growing in my life? Am I becoming the best version of me?

Devotion: Am I committed to what matters most in my life?  Am I giving 100% to the  priorities in my life?

Peace: Am I at peace in my day-to-day life, even when things may not be going as planned? Am I staying connected to my core values, to live an intentional life?

Authenticity: Am I showing up, in both my work and life, fully and 100% myself? Am I owning my story and living in my truth?

Remember these are my markers for how I am redefining success in my life.  Truth be told, I don’t live up to these every single day, BUT I am a work in progress not looking for perfection.  I’m learning to shift the focus from worrying about how others perceive my life to focusing more on how I feel about my life.

Tell us what success looks like to you…. no cookie cutter answers.  What questions would you yourself when fears of “am I successful?” and “am I good enough?” creep in?

Have a ThirtyOne-derufl day!

 

 

 

Goals on Your Terms

  

Happy Friday!  It was a short week for many and for me, this is my last weekend at my part-time job.  It is time to embark on a new journey, one which scares me to death but I am ready because I have an awesome support system….

“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The New Year is all about making this year our best and what we’re going to make happen in the next 12 months.  No pressure, right?  We (or at least I do) tend to let external noise and pressure dictate how I’m going to work and grow my business. I know I am not alone after seeing countless posts on my newsfeed with similar messages about how 2017 will be different.

My question to you is, what are your priorities in 2017? Do you want to take your business to the next level? Or are you looking to grow it in other ways, maybe with consistent sales, building stronger relationships? The the key to commit to what works best for you.

I was working with my new accountability partner, and she said something which really stuck with me – “I know what my goals are for everything in my life but my business.  I really need to pray on it”.  WOW!  She didn’t have the pat answers everyone else had about promoting.  She didn’t just want to quit her FT job.  She really wanted to be walking God’s plan for her life in her business.  It made me realize my answers sometimes look like everyone else’s and I wasn’t sure if they were really my answers….

I came across these questions from Jen Carrington in one of her blogs, which made me reconsider how I wanted my business to look this year on my own terms.

1. What am I proud of in my business and my life this past year?

A good foundation starts by spending a little time with the things you’re already proud of and grateful for in your business and personal life.  This allows you to set goals from a place of peace and positivity.  Ask yourself: what am I proud of this past year in my business and personal life? What have I made happen along the way? Have I responded to struggles, frustrations, and mistakes in a way I am proud of? What goals have I met and achieved? What have I learned and how have I grown?

2. What does growing my business look like for me?

Now get super honest with yourself: what does growing your business look like for you? Forget about the others and find your own definition. Is it reaching new financial goals? Developing and honing your craft? Growing your community and network? Feeling more fulfilled and at peace in your business and creative life and routine?

3. What are the non-negotiables when it comes to the ways I don’t want to grow my business?

I’m not a carrot chaser, so the idea of promoting isn’t the only thing which appeals to me.  So I totally get it.  Sometimes our fear of going against our core values and losing the heart behind our business holds us back from truly reaching our potential or building the business we really want.

So ask yourself: what are the ways you don’t want to grow your business?  Give yourself permission to not go after the things which don’t matter to you. Then you can scale, grow, and evolve in a way which lights you up.

4. How would I like to grow in my business over the next 3-5 years?

This one is hard for me…. I mean I just created my first REAL HONEST vision board for this year.  So when someone asks me, how would I like to grow my business over the next 3-5 years, I develop the stammers…. In 5 years, where would you love to be with your work? What are the big goals you’d like to work towards over the next few years ahead? It’s okay if you don’t have all the answers, but if you have any ideas about what you’d like to work towards in the long run, spend a little time with it so you can connect to the bigger vision.

With everything you discovered in these questions, what would you like to prioritize this year?  What does taking your business to the next level in 2017 on your own terms look like for you?

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!