Going into the holidays where we are all so busy, running from party to party, celebrating with friends and family, buying gifts, being stuck in traffic, trying to find time to finish “the list”….I thought it would be appropriate to ask a question of Agent Genius Readers.
The definition of success is the following:
the accomplishment of an aim or purpose – the attainment of popularity or profit – a person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains prosperity.
It seems that the RE.net goes through a cycle of wanting to quantify and prove the validity of people’s business and I totally understand, but like many things in life, success is subjective and depends on each of our goals and lifestyles.
So I want you to reflect for a few minutes and think of what success means to you - is it to be able to live off the interest from the money in your bank account? is it to be “popular”? is it a certain way of life? or maybe it’s only about family…….(maybe it’s about knowing how to spell “cemetery”)
What is success to you?
image courtesy of Nitot on Flickr
(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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Consumerism, Geo-mapping columnist
Marketing columnist
Success can be something small like you finished a project or it can be a short to long term goal you have.
There are several people in Chester County PA who are much happier than they were a year ago and I have had the privilege to participate in their happiness.
Next year’s success means to increase the number of people in whose happiness I will participate.
Success is personal. It always has been and always will be. And it certainly can’t be defined solely by financial terms.
I don’t say that because I’ve never earned a lot of money. I have and do. By just about any standard, I’ve achieved significant financial success in my life. Some years more than others, of course, I’m an entrepreneur. But I’m quite sure the percentage of the population who have ever earned 7 figures would require the use of a decimal point. And yet, when I look at my social security reports, the years I’ve earned less have sometimes been the happiest years of my life. I’ve made millions and I’ve lost millions. None of it defines success for me.
Size of company? I’ve had 2500 employees and I’ve had 1. Was I more “successful” with 2500? By one measure, sure. But in terms of happiness… no. I was miserable. Can you be successful and miserable at the same time? Perhaps. But not the way I choose to define success.
Success for you may not be success for me. I get to define success for me. You get to define success for you.
T
To be able to be home with my 14 year old and cart her and her friends around, to experience her moods good and bad, and to every now and then take off with my husband to a far flung place last minute (like one day in Milan Italy last September–he’s an airline captain) and to sell a couple of homes to afford it–that is my success.
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Mary Anne – funny you mention that. I decided to leave my architecture career because I would work 60+ hour weeks and had no life outside the office. Now it seems we work 24-7, but we’re able to spend quality time with our children and do things we were not able to do while working 9-5 in Corporate America. We have not missed soccer games, water polo matches, classroom recitals and wouldn’t have it any other way.
For me, success in real estate means that I’m making enough money to be able to live life on my own terms. I have the freedom to do what I love, helping buyers and sellers and other agents, rather than being forced to get a job that I don’t love to pay the bills.
I love the flexibility that comes with real estate. True, I actually worked on Thanksgiving morning. But that was my choice. I hope to never again have to take a job where someone else dictates my schedule and daily activities, or ask permission to take a day off.
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I stole this list from a mentor/teacher of mine. It really resonated with me for some reason.
I know I’m being successful when:
1. I can wake up every day and ask: “What would I like to do today?”
2. I can live anywhere I choose.
3. My passive revenue exceeds my lifestyle needs.
4. I’m working on projects I’m excited about and doing my very best work.
5. There are no whiny people in my life.
6. I have no deadlines or time obligations.
7. I wear whatever I want all the time.
8. I can quit any project at any time.
9. I can disappear for several weeks with no affect on my income.
10. I wear my watch for curiosity only.
…and here’s a quote from one of the early pioneers of Personal Development, as we know it today:
“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal”
- Earl Nightengale
Success is never having to regret not following your dreams because of money.
Success for me is getting up every day, anxious to get to ‘work’ on my websites, blogs, etc. It’s absolutely loving what I’m doing, never getting tired of it, and never feeling like it is work. Obtaining my NC RE license led me to something I am passionate about (not to mention financial distress!), which is not necessarily real estate, per se. Maybe I was a RE paralegal too many years… it is beyond shocking being on ‘the other side of the table’ now.
That’s neither here nor there. I left a great job as a Controller to leave Hawaii and ‘do my own thing’ rather than continue on making/protecting money for others. I’ve lived with lots of $$, and without lots of $$. At this point I’m in a ‘without’ stage, but can honestly tell you I’ve never been happier.
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@ines – Of course I have to chime in on this. Reading through the comments gave me plenty of food for thought too. Because of my past affiliation with the music industry, I’ve seen and done some things that the rest of the world only dreams about. I’ve made money hand over fist and went through years where I had no income and had to live off the bank accounts. I’ve been up and I’ve been down.
I was successful, no doubt about it. I sold millions of records, there are kids with posters of me on their walls, I’ve dined with celebrities, and had a blast. But as the years crept on, the joy was slipping away. I loved being on stage, but all the money and fame in the world couldn’t stop me from feeling as if I were losing my passion for what I was doing. There was something missing from all of it. I thought long and hard and realized what was missing. Me. I had become a robot. I did what I had to do in order to do my “job” and that was all it required. I wasn’t challenged, I wasn’t given new opportunities, I was stagnant.
In all of that, I realized why all that “success” meant nothing to me. I was utterly miserable inside. On the outside, I was still having the time of my life, but on the inside I hated everything about it. It was then that I wrote a long email to the band explaining my position.
They’ve remained together and taken on a new guitarist (who is someone I admire a lot) and have been very successful this year (I know, because I get to look at the financial statements). I could be making a lot more money, but I’ve never been one to think that’s the sole determining factor in success.
Now, I am a real estate agent, I have new goals and a new vision for success for myself. It doesn’t hinge on everyone else. It’s all on me. Pressure? Sure. I’d rather live with that pressure and succeed or fail – but knowing it was all mine to begin with is what defines my success. If I am controlling my own destiny and doing my best (whether I’m reaching the goal of success or not), I am successful.