A simple google search on “what is success?” generates 2.7 billion results! People from all walks of life chase it daily. However, success could seem like a delusion as the more people pursue it, the harder it is for them to catch it. There will always be someone more “successful”, having more followers, better looking, more influential, and wealthier.

Is your success based on how many awards you have received, the number of followers you have on Instagram, the university you attended, how much money you have, your MBA, or how many people’s lives you have positively touched?

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, Success is the achievement of the results wanted or hoped for.

This definition appears amazingly simple and straightforward. However, most people become so driven by the ambition to achieve more and more results that they narrow the definition of success to fame and money alone.

I like this popular quote by Albert Einstein:

“Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value.”

Take Richard Branson, for example. I do not think his primary aim of creating Virgin was to get rich. I believe he created his business to improve people’s lives and to create value in the world.

Of course, some people only want to make money, and while there is nothing wrong with that, I have found out that seeking financial success alone can be unfulfilling.

Although most of the people globally recognized as successful are wealthy, you will hardly hear them mention how much money they have when they are describing their success.

The world defines success based on popularity and wealth – success that comes from the outside. The problem with status-driven “success” is that it keeps people on a perpetual rat race.

True success is not about money or fame. To become successful, you must stop living your life to please other people. Stop worrying about what other people think, and start living a life that matters to you. Even if you fail along the way, you are not a failure. You only learn a priceless lesson.

I have no idea how my blog will do, but it does not matter. What matters is that I wanted to try it and I did it. I am proud of myself, knowing that I write an article and publish a post every day.

I leaped into the uncertainty of life outside of the corporate world, and once I did that, I understood how much personal power I accrued by making the bold step to jump in the first place.

In a Success Magazine article, Tom Ferry, founder, and CEO of Tom Ferry International, mentioned that one of his mentors said:

“If you chase money, you’ll always just chase money and rarely be happy. Instead, become more valuable than anyone. Deliver more service, help everyone achieve goals and become their best. And guess what will happen? Buckets of money will be given to you.”

We have heard about so many people who appear to be successful on the outside, yet they are unhappy, miserable, and full of anxiety. As humans, we tend to adjust quickly to events in our lives – whether it is becoming a University graduate, getting a great job, starting a business, getting married, leaping to follow a passion – whatever it is, we have a way of getting used to events and letting our happiness wear off quickly.

Several people do great things in their lives but have never been recognized for their work. To society, they are far from successful because they are not famous or seen to be wealthy. Their definition of success could be different from society’s definition of success?

If you are a writer, and you set a goal to publish one post a day. Would you consider yourself successful if you publish one or more posts a day? You would.

A successful life is one that allows you to experience as much peace of mind as possible. One way to have a life that gives you peace of mind is to do work that you can flow with. You start by discovering your strengths and talents. Then working on projects that align your life with your strengths and talents. As your work resonates with people, you will create a community that will motivate you to keep creating. This will give your life meaning.

The world needs your ideas, gifts, and work. Instead of focusing on money and fame alone, pursue something more meaningful like serving your gifts and ideas with the world. Choose to measure success according to your own criteria, and not those created by someone else. And at the end of your life, you will have happier memories.