I wish I could say that I have always known exactly what I wanted to do with my life.  But truth be told, I spent most of my more productive years “figuring out” what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be.  And I confess, dear readers, that I was pretty much resolved to be passive in my life – to let life evolve naturally around me and take me where it wanted me to go.

The problem with that philosophy is that “life” really has no plans for anyone.  Life, in the sense of the everyday happenings around us, isn’t a thinking, rational creature that is focused on whether we’re happy or successful or comfortable.  Life is pretty much about survival.  And if you are only focused on survival, it’s not likely you’ll ever be “successful.”

Of course, that begs the question – what the heck IS “successful” anyway?  How is something as esoteric as “success” defined?  Do we have a true and universal measure for it?

Nope.  Success can’t be defined by a text-book definition or a measuring stick of any type.  It is only defined by the individual.  It’s a “point of view” problem, sort of like Einstein’s relativity example.  Einstein used a train and a ball to describe the curve of space and time, and in his example he said that if you throw a ball from a moving train the path of the ball changes according to the perspective of the viewer.  The person throwing the ball sees it dart immediately to one side, taking a radical change of course from what the ball-thrower had intended.  The person standing exactly parallel to the ball thrower sees the ball travel in a straight line, coming closer to him as an observer.  The person standing further along up or down the train’s path sees the ball travel in a straight trajectory that curves downward over time.  In each case, it’s the same ball, the same thrower, but to each observer it was a different event.

The same can be said of “success.”  It’s defined by the user.

Most of the time, success seems to be determined by dollar signs.  If a writer creates a novel and it sells a million copies at full cover price, he’s making pretty good scratch – he’s a success!  But what if the novel only sells 100-thousand copies?  Chances are the writer’s still making a pretty good check, but is he a success?  And what if the book only sells 500 copies?  The money is a great deal smaller at this point, is he successful?  And if it only sold one copy?  None at all?

Most people tend to think of this as being “unsuccessful.”  If the money is low, if nothing sells, if the numbers don’t pan out then there was no success.  But again, this is a matter of perspective.

Some people might consider it quite an accomplishment to even WRITE a book!  Some might consider themselves successful if a publisher agrees to make a run of it!  Some might consider it a dream fulfilled if they have a nice, professionally printed galley of the book to place on their shelves for visitor to see.

The trick here (and really, it’s no “trick” at all but more of a shift in thinking) is to look at every “unsuccessful event” in your life as a DIFFERENT KIND of success.

Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb, said that he hadn’t failed at all when it took him 10-thousand tries to invent the light bulb.  Instead, he proudly proclaimed that he’d found 9,999 ways how NOT to make a light bulb!  The same principle could apply to your daily life.  You have NOT failed to be financially successful, you successfully ELIMINATED a way to do something the wrong way!

Yeah, it seems kind of corny when you look closely at it.  What it amounts to, though, is a much more positive means of looking at your life.  It’s a much better way to determine what you want to do with yourself.  Heck, it’s just plain more fun than letting yourself be run down and depressed over an unmet goal.

Many people misunderstand the purpose of goals.  Goals are not hard-and-fast rules, they’re not on the “must accomplish” list.  They are targets.  They are something at which to aim.  Accomplishing a goal is wonderful and exciting and energizing, but working TOWARDS a goals is what leads to success.  In the process of working to accomplish a goal, you will discover many other paths, many other GOALS for you to accomplish.  You will refine your target as you work towards it, making it clearer and easier to see.  You will be able to redefine what success means to you as you move towards your goals, even if the goal itself is never fully realized.

I spent a large portion of my life with no goals and no plans, and even though I’ve accomplished and experienced many wonderful things I never felt “successful” until I started setting goals for myself and practicing a continual redefining of “success.”  Now that I put these things into daily practice, I never feel that I’m falling short of success.  I feel that I’m accomplishing it with every task.

Is financial success a worthy goal?  Yep!  You should definitely have a number in mind that you can use as a watermark for success.  But – make sure it stays a water mark and doesn’t become a lid on your success.  Make sure that you are continually redefining what financial success means to you.  When you reach the number, it’s not time to rest and relax!  It’s time to redouble your efforts, to set a new goal and to think of new ways to reach it!

Here is you homework for the week – redefine success!  Take a look at every aspect of your life, from family to finances to fun time, and redefine what it means to be successful at these things.  Set goals, reach them, then reset them.  The result will be a very positive energy that fuels you for more and more success every day.