Today I want to talk about success. A lot of entrepreneurs and business professionals talk about “success” as though it’s a clearly-defined term, and as though we all have the same understanding and definition of success. But throughout my career, I’ve found that this isn’t true.

Are you clear on what success means to you?

Being clear on what success means to you matters. Why? Because if you’re not clear on what success looks like, you won’t know what you’re aiming for. And there are so many definitions of success out there that if you don’t give it some inner contemplation, you might attach your personal meaning to some generic definition that isn’t actually the best one for you, personally.

Success means different things to different people. When it comes to business and career success specifically, it might mean:

• Hitting a certain income milestone
• Feeling confident and triumphant in your daily work, and meeting the goals set for you by your boss or clients
• Getting a certain promotion
• Being able to shut off every day at 5pm and to be there for your family, friends, or hobbies
• Fulfilling a certain mission or purpose
• The freedom to pursue work that’s interesting to you or to do work you love
• Not having to work at all and retiring whenever you want

As you can see, the definition of success can mean very different things to different people.

So, are you clear on what success means to you?

There are also different areas of life to which the notion of “success” apply. Are you successful at work? At home, with your family life, your friendships, and/or your relationship? Are you successful with how you approach your health and well-being? How about with how you manage your finances? What about fun, recreation and entertainment – are you successfully incorporating some regular fun and play into your life? Other categories to consider may be your personal/spiritual development, your physical environment, and your love life.

Here’s what I recommend. Grab a piece of paper (or open up a Word doc) and create boxes for the following categories:

• Career/business
• Finances and wealth
• Friends and family
• Fun, recreation and entertainment
• Health and fitness
• Love life
• Personal/spiritual development
• Physical environment

Now give yourself some uninterrupted time to contemplate each category. When doing exercises like this, I like to set a timer for 20 minutes and to put my phone on silent so I can relax and focus, while knowing that there’s an end in sight and that this won’t turn into a two-hour activity.

For each category, make note of where you’re doing well. What are you proud of when it comes to this topic? What habits or achievements make you feel “successful” in this category? Where are you winning?

Then, add some notes on areas for improvement. Where are you falling short of what success in this category? Try to get super clear on what success in this area would look like for you. What does it entail, specifically? What would it feel like and look like? How will you know when you’ve arrived? And what daily habits could you adopt to bring about more success in this category?

I hope this helps! Are you clear on what success means to you? Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn, and let me know!