What Does Success Look Like? Revealed by 12 Highly Successful People

What does success look like?

Chances are, when you think about success, you have a few of the classic markers of success floating around your brain. Insert stock photograph paradigm of the boss working late into the nighttime, or an image of an ecstatic only very relaxed luxury vacationer. You probably have another more personal and perhaps more modern views of what success looks similar kicking effectually in your head as well.

Every bit work civilization has quickly evolved and the confront of the typical entrepreneur or leader has broadened to include a greater number of individuals seeking freedom and command over their lives and livelihoods, many are left wondering, how do they practise it?

Scan our list of highly successful people who are entrepreneurs, authors, creatives, speakers who walk the walk – they've brought success to their lives on their ain terms and hopefully it volition inspire you to redefine your own arroyo to designing your side by side stage of success!

1. Lauren Smith Brody

Author of The Fifth Trimester , Founder of The Fifth Trimester consulting

On Defining Success

Agency is how I measure my success. Elementary equally that.

Success is being able to chart your ain course freely — either every bit an entrepreneur working a hodgepodge of hours so you tin do all of the mom stuff too, or in a more than traditional workplace, where y'all foreground challenges, enquire for what y'all need, and improve culture for everyone around you in the process.

The Realization of Success

When I turned down Goldman Sachs. They wanted me to come atomic number 82 a business organisation development seminar for potential female person clients…but wanted me to practice it for costless.

Believe me, I would have loved the credibility that comes with putting their logo on my website as a "client," but there was no way I could stand in front of a room of entrepreneurial women and talk about things similar the wage gap and the Maternity Penalisation and not get paid myself.

Information technology was scary to say no in the moment, but by the next day, I realized I had turned a large corner in my business goals, both financially and morally.

From that point on, I had used this line:

"I save my reduced-fee and pro-bono work for non-profits and under-resourced community groups."

It works!

Motivation for Success

My kids. Information technology used to exist that I wanted to practice skillful work in the world and provide for my sons. That's all still truthful, simply the urgency of modeling motivation, dust, perseverance, and social justice has grown tremendously as they have gotten a bit older. They're 7 and 10 now and I can already come across that my time with them in my motherly clutches (ha!) is waning.

I want to succeed so that they can exist motivated to do great, meaningful work one day, and then they'll understand the importance of existence an marry to women and anyone who doesn't have all of the privilege and admission they were born with.

two. Janice Taylor

Founder of Mazu

The Realization of Success

Information technology's funny, I am not sure I e'er experience like I accept reached the moment! The blessing and curse of beingness an entrepreneur is the relentless pursuit. So afterwards years of chasing, I have decided to merely love the process of daily discovery. Each mean solar day presents a new challenge to face the dragon, to celebrate the victory of being alive.

My business has had so many close calls of this is my final day and I am going to become back to my serving roots in the eatery industry, yet merely every bit I say that, something miraculous happens. It is a procedure and the success is in the procedure.

When Success is at Odds With Your Life

I recollect the hardest part of using your life to solve a large problem is knowing when information technology is time to disconnect. To allow menstruation take over.

At dwelling house, it is showing my girls that dreams are possible but, they do not come for free. You must be willing to do the work necessary on your self to clear your own filter then you tin can apply more of your imagination to solve.

My girls now see what it takes to bring a dream alive and they intimately encounter that yes, fifty-fifty a adult female can have dreams that are contrary to our electric current civilization. As a mother, I feel an incredible sense of duty and obligation to show my girls the process of work as well equally the joy of what they can get.

How Others Perceive Your Success

For me, success has nothing to practise with money, houses, greenbacks or annihilation outside.

A long time ago, I grew upwardly with zippo, my mom worked 3 jobs and I was absolutely convinced in my younger years that if I but made money, I would be happy. Well, I made coin and I was still stuck with this nagging feeling of sadness.

Later on, I discovered that all of my struggles were on purpose so that I would intimately sympathise, experience and know the trouble I was born to solve.

I believe inherently in every person is the problem/purpose that only they can solve with their imagination. I am fuelled past the deep understanding and satisfaction that I am here to solve information technology. It is not glamorous but is deeply fulfilling.

Motivation for Success

Death mostly. Sounds awful merely really I know my fourth dimension hither on Globe is finite.

I spent many years in sadness, trapped in my ego from the circumstances of my life. I now understand fully I was put through all of that to be prepared.

I have witnessed so many things in my life that I truly don't desire to waste 1 day. I feel a sense of bloodshed in my life and I want to cherish every moment. So if it means truly getting over my sh*t than and then be it. I was prepared to do the piece of work so I could play the total hand of cards that I was given in this life.

The last affair I want to do is leave this Globe with a full mitt of cards I was dealt without trying and trying again every day to play the full hand. Life is kind of like Poker that way but I effigy that when it is my time to get, I have lived it fully, honestly and completely.

3. John Lynn

Founder of CELA – The First Ever Summit for Accelerators

The Realization of Success

When I moved on from my commencement successful venture, I saw that I had attached much of my cocky-value to the brand of the business concern — and not understood my own inherent talents in sales, branding, marketplace building, and management.

Later on I started my adjacent visitor, CELA, and accomplished initial traction based on these qualities — I felt positioned to be successful long-term for the first time.

On Defining Success

Success is a organization, not a status. It is a real identify that anybody needs to define regularly. Failure, as well.

At CELA, the nigh important element of progress that nosotros have seen present or missing in over 1,000+ founders is: defining it and redefining both on a consistent and measured basis — as well often, we call up of hitting KPI's every bit the of import act, when the critical component is committing a particular signal of action to surpassing, achieving, or declining goals.

When Success is at Odds With Your Life

Our commitment to success at work is often understood categorically as success. However, the reality is that the ways we allow not-work-related activities, fourth dimension, and other resources to fuel work is the true standard for durable success, happiness, and progress.

Concisely: if it seems that life is pushing hard confronting piece of work priorities — you have the incorrect work priorities.

How Others Perceive Your Success

This has price me lifelong friendships, damaged family relationships, and prevented the growth of personal relationships. Not because work interfered with the fourth dimension or attention paid to these people/groups/relationships, but just because my work was not understood.

The lesson for me: it is more important for others that are important to you to understand what you do and why you practice it, than it is that you do it successfully.

Motivation For Success

The emotional advantage to seeing an offering, system, or experience I have built return value to a real person, with a specific problem, repeatedly — is unreal and exhilarating.

iv. Gaetano DiNardi

Director of Demand Generation at Nextiva

The Realization of Success

At a macro level, a truthful measure of success is determined past my fourth dimension to money ratio. I need to exist in the upper correct quadrant of the fourth dimension vs money nautical chart, at all times. If I am slipping into any other quadrant, that means I am failing somewhere.

At a micro level, I evaluate 5 factors with more granularity:

• Time
• Coin
• Relationships
• Health
• Legacy

Every month or so, I retrieve most how I am doing in all of these "buckets" – and I apply 3 different status codes to each expanse:

• Cerise = failing.
• Yellow = Danger / needs significant improvement.
• Green = Doing well.

On Defining Success and Motivation for Success

The ultimate success to me, means all of these areas within my life accept a "green light" status.

Let's look at each 1:

Time:

I accept to exist able to practice what I want in life, menstruation. Nosotros just take express time on earth, and I can't spend it all working, because I'll never get it back.

When information technology comes to time, the nearly of import matter for me is having the ability to exercise my non-piece of work related passions – things like making music, remaining good for you and spending time with friends & family.

Working remotely and living in Miami are also important factors to consider. This allows me to maximize fourth dimension for things I honey, as long as I am productive and getting my sh*t washed too.

Money:

As the saying goes, 20s are for learnin' and 30s are for earnin'. That couldn't be more authentic in my instance. I but turned 30 and am finally clawing my style out of debt from student loans, car payments and credit cards.

During my 20s, I was optimizing for learning and growth, but didn't actually care for cash. Beingness broke didn't affair to me, considering I knew that if I learned the correct skills, that I'd eventually make coin down the route.

Money is aught more a tool. Certain, yous gotta survive and make enough for the minimum necessities, but why do you fifty-fifty a lot of money? For what, exactly?

If yous're killing yourself to make coin and not enjoying your life, it'south likely time to re-evaluate your priorities.

Relationships:

I saucepan these items into one chief "relationships" category:

• Family
• Significant Other
• Friends
• Professional person

Yous could also argue that these should be divide into their own buckets, but this is how I run into it.

Ultimately, you have to prioritize these somehow. Prioritize however you lot meet fit, but choose wisely – keep in mind that you can't completely ignore ane area for besides long, considering it somewhen backfires on yous.

Mastering this bucket is very challenging, because you are dealing with many human emotions. My suggestion is to focus on the relationships that are most important to you, and so branch out equally you lot accept time.

Health:

This is a bucket I ignored for far too long, and have recently made significant changes. Why?

For one, I was getting chunky. I've always been in amazing shape – muscular, lean and athletic. However, it's incredible what a few years of working in tech can do to your trunk. You outset getting stressed, eating poorly – and Smash, you lot're 20 pounds heavier than you were in college. Not to mention y'all're sitting downwardly on your ass for most of the day.

This saucepan is uncomplicated – WORK FITNESS INTO YOUR SCHEDULE. Set calendar events if you take to, only only force yourself to exercise it. That's information technology. Get a FitBit or Apple Sentry… which might help keep you on rail.

Legacy:

Legacy is something you take to residual with your time and availability to pursue passion projects. But legacy is also what people think you lot by – meaning, not what yous did for them, but how you made them feel.

What will people say nearly you when you're gone? This is powerful.

For me, I want to exist known as a guy who made great music, was a tremendous marketer, and an all effectually great guy with a eye of golden. How does this happen?

• Be likable.
• Be a great listener.
• Have a warm spirit.
• Produce amazing content.
• Make people feel skillful.
• Give gratis communication to youngsters, pay it frontward.
• If you have a lot of money, never talk about it.
• Support a charity or peachy crusade, if you can.

At the end of the twenty-four hours, there will be occasional times when you don't feel like you're on the right path, simply it should just exist temporary.

When you get-go to feel similar that every day, for an extended flow of time, you've got a problem.

5. Abigail Hunter-Syed

VP of Operations at LDV Uppercase

The Realization of Success

At LDV Capital, nosotros invest in deep technical people edifice visual applied science businesses. When LDV Capital started in 2012, many people dismissed visual tech as "beautiful, niche and science fiction" merely now, well-nigh everything you see in the tech and investment spheres centers around how machine learning, artificial intelligence and figurer vision are disrupting legacy business.

It's great to come across the mainstream finally recognizing our belief, that visual technologies will improve businesses and the earth we live in. It is fifty-fifty better to see the fantastic visual tech teams that we invest in create valuable businesses and improve the globe nosotros live in.

On Defining Success

Success is turning a vision into reality. While information technology may exist an iteration of my initial idea, bringing it to life is my ultimate success.

When Success is at Odds With Your Life

You can find success in all aspects of life, in that location are career successes only in that location are so many other successes in life that. For me, these are all imperative to who I am.

Why am I successful today? I woke upwards and went for a run and so got my toddler fed and dressed in a (somewhat) matching outfit for daycare, so I walked into piece of work feeling confident and was able to close a new deal.

In my opinion, my life is fabricated upward of a bunch of tiny wins that feed overall success, nothing is at odds.

Motivation for Success

I am motivated by progress. I have overarching goals for my day, week, twelvemonth, v years, etc. Checking off the boxes, adding in next steps, tracking back to my goals, helps me empathise all of the work I am doing adds up to making big things happen.

vi. Justin Ip

Founder, Boot Wellness

The Realization of Success

We get emails daily from customers telling us how life-changing information technology is for them to experience confident in stressful situations with Boot's beta-blockers in manus. Information technology's such an amazing feeling to open your virtual doors after years of hard piece of work and accept customers truly excited about what you're providing.

Kick offers support to individuals in their biggest moments – presentations, important meetings, public speaking events, and starting time dates – empowering them to ain the moment versus having the moment own them. When the New York Times reached out for an interview ii weeks after launch, I knew we might be onto something, and offering a useful solution to the millions of people who deal with situational anxiety daily.

This journey has shown me how imitation the myth of overnight success actually is – it took more than a year of grinding and creating earlier we launched. To see such an initial positive reaction from the market makes the struggle a chip easier as we pursue our overall goal of helping people become their virtually confident selves.

On Defining Success

Every bit I've progressed in my career, my definition of success has evolved. For me, success is a procedure of exploration rather than a destination.

My career has been a chip eclectic – I've worked in government contracting, at an experiential travel magazine, for an outdoors app startup, and now as a founder of a telemedicine healthcare company. The constant along the style has been a search of what provides accurate fulfillment for me and trying to become globe-class at my craft.

The craft is dynamic and changes over time, but at any given moment, if I feel like all my previous work (and personal) experiences have somehow converged into a place where I am fully using all the skills and tools I've picked up along the way, I'm likely in a skillful spot.

Unlike as they may be, the experiences from the outdoor startup informs production and growth at my healthcare company. Our product and customer journeys at Kick are influenced by my learnings at the experiential travel magazine.

When Success is at Odds With Your Life

I do believe at that place are seasons to a life and career – sometimes work takes priority over domicile life, and vice-versa; simply prolonged imbalances aren't practiced and can lead to personal burnout and interpersonal conflicts.

Earlier in my career, I held the false belief that working harder and pushing myself to 80+ hour working weeks was the formula to become ahead and would lead to happiness.

With experience, I've learned to check in with myself, or perhaps a passenger vehicle or therapist – someone with an external and impartial perspective, to get a sense of where I might exist at any given time, and to form-correct if necessary. Her advice to me is commonly – get outside and play more than with people I value. It sounds quite unproblematic, but can sometimes be surprisingly difficult to practice.

How Others Perceive Your Success

Nosotros live in an increasingly psychologically-driven economic system, which is one of the reasons we started Kick. What I mean by this is – a career used to be expected to just provide a stable income (and mostly for men simply).

Quondam in the 1980s, Gordon Gekko made it fashionable to hunt money and wealth. Millennials, despite their undeserved reputation for laziness and entitlement, have actually redefined success to be nearly more than just money, but also nearly meaning and experiences and fulfillment in both work and in life.

Not everyone agrees with this – it pains me when I hear people talk about their jobs as just a routine paycheck that enables a stable life. It'south perhaps similar to a proficient chef hearing that a diner is eating but for sustenance instead of appreciating how amazing a good meal can actually gustatory modality and smell and feel.

There will e'er exist critics who don't empathise, or who are jealous of your definition of success, just it'southward all-time to hear them out, tease out what might be useful, then go on downwards your own authentic path.

Motivation for Success

To perhaps paraphrase Liam Neeson in Taken, "I've acquired a very particular set of skills". Skills like coding, product sense, growth, and business expertise, and I love applying these skills in a generalist sense to helping people become better, more than confident versions of themselves.

I'm at a signal in my career where I experience similar I've acquired a few learnings, yet at that place are so many things to learn and uncover and other people to invite along. It's a bit circular, but this journey of exploration and being able to share it with others, which makes me feel successful, which then fuels fifty-fifty more than exploration, is what motivates me.

viii. Katja Kukovic

Canoeing Enthusiast, Founder and CEO, Worldwide Boat

The Realization of Success

I started my canoeing business out of passion for sailing and the sea. It was meant to be but a side business for me, I had a full time job in marketing and so.

About a year into information technology, 1 day, I got a phone call from two big corporations as well every bit a phone call from a major celebrity's assistant, all wanting a yacht. That made me realize that I could turn my passion into a serious business, non simply a side gig.

On Defining Success

For me, success means that we live the life we truly want, and not but the life nosotros settle for. Simply information technology goes across that – success is as well knowing that you are able to help others live a happier and better life.

Realizing Your Dreams

Success at piece of work enables me to live my childhood (and adulthood) dream.

My family has a true passion for animals and a few years ago, we started a small rescue farm where we treat many driveling animals, including ten horses, 3 pigs, many chickens, turkeys, and ducks, etc.

My dwelling office faces our horse pasture and there is nil more rewarding than watching those once abused horses run and play happily and carefree.

9. Mike Morris

Co-Founder of Superfat

The Realization of Success

At my last company, I knew that we were going to be successful in significantly growing the company when we were able to accurately predict the result of our actions in the customer acquisition area. While this sounds pretty bones, many times information technology is very hard to necktie specific results to specific deportment with high volume customer acquisition.

Once we figured that out at Grasshopper, I knew that we had 'cracked the code' and would be able to abound significantly.

On Defining Success

I believe that success is being able to predict and deliver results. To me, success isn't a goal, information technology's a mode of working and functioning.

When Success is at Odds With Your Life

For me, success at piece of work makes everything easier in all aspects of life and creates an environment where I tin be more productive and present at habitation. I don't more often than not see these 2 things at odds.

Motivation for Success

I am motivated by large changes over fourth dimension – I like to look back and compare where I am to where I was. Continuing to deliver results creates these changes.

ten. Frances Simowitz

Startup Counselor, CEO & Managing Manager, NUMA

The Realization of Success

It's hard to pinpoint a moment, in the early days, it feels so much most survival that any success is quickly overlooked.

There was a month terminal year, where each calendar week we subsequently airtight the largest deal we had always closed earlier, week over week. The moment we broke from breakeven to profitable was one where I knew nosotros could make information technology and continue building.

On Defining Success

Success is different for anybody. For me, success is not a destination, it'southward the path I'grand on, and the freedom to build on it.

I had a previous career before this one, and I never felt like I was on the right path. Existence skillful at my work, loving my work, and being compensated fairly for it is how I know I'm on a successful path.

When Success is at Odds With Your Life

I've sacrificed a lot for my success in piece of work. It'due south part of the reason I'm divorced. My husband made much more money than me, he wanted me to quit my job and have children, but I felt I couldn't or didn't want to be a female parent until I was someone that I would want my future children to look upward to.

Life is something I actively take to work on, and I've merely this year started to intentionally prioritize things similar hobbies and other interests, which can exist hard for me. I'm very ambitious.

How Others Perceive Your Success

My grandparents are incredibly dislocated past what I practise for work. I likewise work in startups and the compensation is non ever as high as I could be making somewhere else. I had a competing offer at a big Fortune 100 company and could have been making much more money than I am now, but I chose the opportunity to be in a leadership role and continue to build my business over immediate financial reward.

This decision dislocated many friends and family that define success by your paycheck alone. I've ever called opportunity over money every step of my career; and it's paid off, in the end, every unmarried fourth dimension.

To me, that's a successful trajectory.

Motivation For Success

I'd say my core competency is sales, and sales skills are necessary for leadership or as the caput of whatever company.

My first boss in a sales role had a hypothesis that dandy salespeople are a bit damaged or have an innate drive to evidence something. There may be a chip of that in play, but I also really intendance about bear upon.

I love seeing opportunities created, or other people learning and growing in their careers. I also feel strongly as a divorced woman, that I never want to feel like I'grand reliant on a homo to have care of me.

I want the freedom to build my business and my life in the way I want to, and that motivates me every solar day.

11. Nth Bar Fields

CEO & Co-Founder Elysian Trust, Empyrean Trust

The Realization of Success

In 2017, I decided to incorporate a nonprofit organisation, Elysian Trust, dedicated to finding people with hidden talents and unnurtured mental abilities. I concomitantly co-founded its for-profit LLC, Firmament Trust, which works to support the startups that such talented people make. And, merely because I am a glutton for penalization, I co-created a generalist think-tank, Hard Problems Consulting, Pty Ltd, in Australia.

If yous're keeping score, that'south three startups on 2 continents in one year. Unfortunately, Hurricane Harvey hit my residence two months later, and things looked pretty dire for a time. However, our teams pulled through, and all iii companies are thriving.

It was going through the challenging 2017, ironically, that cemented in my mind that we'd succeed. If you can proceed 3 startups that are only a few months old running through a massive hurricane you're probably going to be okay.

That is not to say I didn't make mistakes along the style, because I did. I learned the correct lessons from those mistakes and sagaciously practical them to the present.

How Others Perceive Your Success

I am an ardent believer that we can all succeed. I don't need anyone to fail for me to rise, and no one should believe they need me to be underneath them for them to be a success.

However, to my surprise and chagrin, not everyone shares that mindset. There is a born bureaucracy in a lot of people's instincts. They can't understand why I would exist delighted that a company (for instance) that we helped advance is now more prosperous than my companies all put together.

The reason is unproblematic: the companies nosotros assistance, help others. That makes the globe a better identify to live in for all of us.

You could say I'thou more than about lowering the cost of living down to as close to cypher as possible for all of the states than I am about getting my salary in the peak percentile.

Motivation for Success

I'm non motivated to be successful. I'yard motivated to make the earth a better place for united states of america all, it just and then happens that the mode I've gone about accomplishing this has resulted in success for myself and others. May information technology keep!

I've always wanted to exercise something with my heed to solve existent problems and make valuable contributions to gild. I used to recall that I could make that happen through a high IQ club, like Mensa, Prometheus Lodge, or Olympiq Social club (I've been a member of all of them at some point). However, those organizations don't seem to have that kind of drive I crave. So I built what I was looking for.

In the past 12 months, my companies have helped with cancer research, combating man trafficking, cybersecurity, and several other things. I honey the multifariousness and putting my mind to good use. It makes life worth living for me.

12. Qasim Khan

Co-Founder, ZYN Drink

Realization of Success

Every business is tough. This is especially truthful for nutrient & beverage, where consumers have unlimited choices for what they put into their bodies.

Our get-go realization that we were on the right path was when we started to run across re-orders from customers in shorter-and-shorter increments of fourth dimension. Also, when we started to receive inbound communications from echo customers on how our beverages are helping them with their health & wellness.

Success in Flexible Schedules

Success in entrepreneurship means success at work and at home; they MUST go paw-in-hand.

We are working faster, harder, and longer at present than ever before. My visitor is a labor of honey for my brother and I. However, we are able to invest our time into edifice ZYN on our own schedules, while making certain nosotros are involved in the lives of our families.

How Others Perceive Your Success

For many people, success is measured entirely by their financial net worth. For us, that is an important factor too, just financial wealth isn't all that defines success.

It is important to be multi-dimensionally successful in all aspects of life. For us, that includes family involvement, community involvement, charitable contributions, social, ethical, and environmental responsibleness, sports, etc.

Taking the plunge and post-obit the trounce of your own drum can be liberating for many but there's no design for success. It used to be that success was primarily tied to making insufficiently more money than others. That's simply not enough of a spectacular distinction for people today.

Knowing what will bring you success has to be fulfilling and not superficial. It has to feel similar success to you, non only look like it to everyone who'south watching on social media.

Final Thoughts

There is no unmarried definition for success. If you want to become a successful person, observe what motivates you and gives you lot meaning.

With all the advice given by the above 12 successful people, take on whatever works for you and define success on your ain terms.

More Articles About Success

• How to Have a Successful Career and a Fulfilling Personal Life
• fifteen Inspiring Ideas to Boost Your Motivation for Success
• 12 Weekend Habits of Highly Successful People
• 20 Definitions Of Success Y'all Should Never Ignore

Featured photo credit: Austin Distel via unsplash.com

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Source: https://www.lifehack.org/827419/what-does-success-look-like

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