Successfully Significant

Define for me, Success.

Wikipedia says that it is an *achievement of an objective/goal, *a level of social success, *the opposite of failure.

Oddly enough Success was also the name of an automobile manufacturing company that boasted a car with a two-cylinder gasoline engine, steel tires (rubber for an extra 25 bucks), and a chain drive. It claimed speeds of 4-18 miles per hour depending on which one you picked off the lot and an incredible 100 miles per gallon. The story of Success ends after only ten years in the manufacturing business when, despite the bargain deal of only 250 dollars per “horseless carriage”, it joined the long list of early unsuccessful automobile companies.

If someone sets bargain basement level goals are they a success when they attain them? Would you consider your neighborhood angst ridden teen a success if he told you that he was happy to report reaching his goals for the day, which involved waking up, finishing off the chips he fell asleep eating and smoking a half a pack of menthol cigarettes?

Would the man in front of you in line at the grocery store earn the title of success if you know he was a multi millionaire, a member of all the right social clubs, the captain of his mens lacrosse team, a red cross volunteer, a regular donater of blood, a living organ donor and the head of your neighborhood watch? What if you also knew that behind closed doors he beat his wife and verbally abused his kids?

Is the standard set too low when we tell people that in order to be a success, they just have to make sure they don’t fail? Is a D- on a report card even good enough to earn a kid a raise in his allowance? Is a D- the mark of a successful student?

So what then is a true definition of Success?

I would propose that as we get caught up thinking about what we need to do in order to be a success, what we actually should be focusing on are ways to be significant.

*meaningful, *of consequence, *having or likely to have a major effect, *important, *influential, *effective.

I was a boss of manual labor crews for many years. In my trial and error attempts to motivate guys I learned that one of the most important factors in attaining high levels of achievement was the ability to focus and take ownership, i.e. internalize. When you reach a state of self awareness that allows you to claim ownership over your circumstances you are then ready to push the boundaries of your limitless potential. The harsh reality is that there are many external factors that greatly influence our ability to attain success as it has been defined for us. These factors are often beyond our control, lowering the ceiling of our potential by taking ownership away from the individual and placing it on the circumstances that are we are placed in. This in turn leaves a wide vacuum of space ripe for the picking by every defeatist attitude our minds can conjure up. We then find it easy to believe the lies of society- “i’m too fat”, “i dont have enough money”, “i dont drive the right car”. Then the soft little shoulder of societys swoops in and says that nothing is our fault because we were held back by our circumstances. lies.

I propose that whenever you hear the term success, instead substitute the term Significance. I will give an example. When you ask yourself if your accrued wealth makes you successful, what you are actually asking yourself is whether or not you are making enough money compared to your peers. Since you can not control what your peers make, you have taken ownership out of your own hands. When you ask yourself if you are a successful athlete, you are actually asking yourself whether or not you are at an ‘acceptable level’ compared to your peers. Again, your limits of potential are lowered. If instead, you ask yourself if your wealth, your athleticism, your time management, your work ethic, your family life, your charitable donations etc. make you significant, then you have taken the reins.

I believe that one of our main purposes in life is fulfilled only when we answer the call to be significant. We are each given a unique quantity and diversity of talents, what we do with that amount determines our significance. Do I make a significant positive impact on the people that I come into contact with? Do I use a significant amount of my wealth to increase the quality of life of those in need? Do I use my athleticism in a way that makes a significant positive impact on the kid that always gets picked last?

Often when you reach out to that lonely kid that never gets picked, your chances of being successful diminish, but Every time you do, your level of significance increases.