What does success mean to you? You’ve got to define it before you can achieve it!
Success means different things to different people. Before you attempt to measure just how successful you really are in your career (and in your life), take the time to write down exactly what success means to you. You can’t measure anything that’s vague or subjective, so the first step in determining the amount of success you’ve achieved is to clarify just what success means to you!
Do you need to make a lot of money in order to call yourself a success? Or is the measure of your achievement the number of 
positive actions that you take in order to make the world a better place? Some people need to be in positions of authority in order to feel that they’ve achieved a certain degree of accomplishment. What factors come into play when you think about the nature of your success?
Write down what comes to mind as you contemplate what success means to you. If you’ve never considered your own personal definition of success, you may be surprised as to what you come up with!
Why is it important to clarify what success means in your life?
1) You won’t need to compare your career and life paths with anyone else, because each person’s success is unique;
2) You’ll have a better understanding of how far you may need to go in order to be successful, on your terms, or
3) You may find that you’ve already been successful all along!
What if you discover, after carefully writing down your own signposts of success, that you are nowhere near where you would like to be at this stage in your life? You have options for change at every juncture. It’s never too late to make career transitions, no matter what your age! Years ago, a relative told me that because she was 40, it was too late to find the right career. The years have gone by, and now, at age 68, she’s exactly where she was at 40—with no career!
Do you want to be like my relative who said it was “too late”? Life is all about challenge and opportunity, so if you aren’t in the right career for you, take action to change it! And if you need some expert guidance in making those life or job transitions, consider hiring a professional coach to make your path of personal and career transformation a whole lot easier!
