Success Principles We Should Know Today (Results From Our Survey)

Success is a funny thing to talk about. If you ask a hundred people their definition of success, there’s a chance that you get a hundred different answers. It depends on a lot of things. How you were brought up, where you were brought up, who you hang out with, the list goes on and on.

So what is success to you?

Is it having more money?

Health?

Good relationships?

Being happy?

Being more spiritual?

If you ask a hundred people their definition of success, there’s a chance that you get a hundred different answers

Whatever it is, chances are you haven’t reached that point yet. And even if you have, chances are you changed your definition of success and you’re looking for more. Whatever your definition, this post can help take you one step closer to that goal.

So how does this work? First of all, we got a total of 176 individuals of all backgrounds that we would consider somewhat successful. We have CEO’s, business owners, editors, bloggers, partners and many more. They all have their own definition of success. While they might not all think that they are successful, our contributors are definitely considered successful by some, if not most people’s standards. They took a survey, so the average is where we try to strive towards to increase our chances. They also left a few sentences each about what they think we need to know.

Whether success means health, wealth, spiritual wellbeing, good relationships or anything else, this is how you can take a step towards it and take your life to a much higher standard.

Best Ways To Learn

One thing’s for sure; learning is one of the most important things. Everyone has learned and experienced something in life, and you can get all that knowledge without actually going through them. With access to the internet, there’s no shortage of knowledge and no excuse not to learn in today’s world. The only thing that’s probably more important than learning is doing. From our survey, books (24%) are the most common way of learning. You can read the whole book or find book summaries from our list..  This is followed by blogs (17%), online courses  (13%), podcasts(13%), then social media(9%) and seminars (9%). This is quite a subjective thing, and in our opinion, they all have strengths and weaknesses. The best way to go about this is to learn from all mediums at different pace and level, keeping in mind that things like podcasts and audiobooks can be done while doing other things, seminars can immerse you in the topic and books can be done during your free time. Pick a few, if not all of these learning mediums, and you will be well on your way to being better you.

Time Spent Learning

Every successful person needs to spend time learning. If you’re not learning, there’s a high chance you’re making a lot of mistakes you shouldn’t be making. Not that mistakes are wrong, but some are easily avoidable. As you can see from the chart, most spend 3-5 hours a week learning something new. We said before that learning is essential but doing is just as important, if not, more important than education, so you don’t want to spend all your time just learning. Anywhere from 3-10 hours a week is a good guideline to follow.

If you’re not learning, there’s a high chance you’re making a lot of mistakes you shouldn’t be making

Approaching New Projects

It could be any project. A business project, being healthier, trying to build a better relationship, it’s all the same approach. The most common method is to learn and apply. This is followed by making mistakes. Together, it will be a killer strategy to achieve anything. Other ways include finding a mentor, plan, and research, among others. The reason ‘learn and apply’ and ‘make mistakes’ are high up in votes is because those two are about taking action. Not waiting, researching, pondering and not doing anything. Without effort, there are no results. So make sure you take action and start making mistakes!

Goals

An obvious one. Our survey shows that 97% set goals and 3% don’t. So if you want your success rate to drop by nearly 97%, don’t set goals! The reason goals are so important, is because it gives us a target to head towards. I can’t just ‘be healthier.’ It needs to be a goal like I want to lose 20lbs and look like him (it has to be more specific, but that’s just an example). We won’t go into too much detail about goals but just know that this is a landslide and the chances of someone being successful without setting goals, well, is slim. Achievable but would you take that risk?

How Often To Review Goals?

Setting goals are just the beginning. Reviewing them regularly can be the difference between a goal and a wish. A good figure would be anywhere from once a day to once a month. As long as you review your goals regularly, it will help push your mindset towards achieving it. Reviewing more than once a day could be an excellent strategy as well. Not many do it because it has to be a habit and can take a bit of time but if you can, it’s worth a shot. In the end, reviewing just brings you closer to achieving your primary goals.

Most Important Traits

This is a big one and probably the most interesting. The most important trait we all need to succeed as voted is perseverance. It’s true that you never lose until you give up and this is why perseverance is the most important. This trait is followed by commitment, hard work, focus and a bit further down, motivation. All these put together is a recipe for achieving anything! And that is no exaggeration. One thing I’d like to highlight here is luck. Luck is quite far at the bottom, but it’s still considered a factor. I won’t say that you need some luck to succeed, but luck does help if it comes your way. Still, a lucky person won’t achieve much without all the other traits ranked higher up.

Failure

Do you hate failing? From our stats, most successful people failed at least five times. This is significant failures we’re talking about. But they make it in the end because they never gave up. 6% have never failed. Chances are, they haven’t failed yet, and they will be defined by how they deal with it. The main lesson here is, don’t be afraid to fail. The more you fail, the higher your chances to succeed. I’m not saying go blindly and make sure you fail, but do your due diligence, make sure you know what you’re doing, and do what you need to do. The important thing is to do. Don’t let the fear of failure paralyze you into not taking action.

The more you fail, the higher your chances to succeed

Advice From The Best

This has been a fun study, and I hope you’ve learned a lot from the survey so far. Here are some priceless advice from the contributors that will help you on your journey:

Sometimes we get in our own way when we’re trying to achieve our goals. We lose sight of what’s important, or concentrate on the wrong things and wonder why we’re spinning our wheels. The truth is, in order to achieve anything in this life, you have to plan it out, work on putting your mind where it should be along the path, develop systems for getting things done and maintain a steady course. – Ted Rubin

Success is as much about failure as it is about success. Only through failure can you learn what you need to, to ultimately succeed. The first thing you will learn is ‘how bad do i really want this??’ – Erin Falconer

I’ve learned that success can really become addictive once you get your first taste of it. With that being said, though, it’s always important to stay humble and grounded as you become more and more successful. – Andrew Schrage

Let go of perfection and put yourself out there as soon as you can, it’s scary but you can do it. Work on your craft daily and especially when you don’t feel like it. Don’t be afraid to start really small. Everything you do now, even if it’s fighting for an inch a day can add up over time into something really big and make all the difference down the road. – Liz Froment

You are already successful, just keep going and achieve more. – Lily Ma

I’ve learned (the hard way) that success comes from analyzing all the actions you’ve completed toward achieving an important goal and then identifying the few key habits/strategies that generate the biggest results. From there, it’s a simple matter of singularly focusing on these core tasks — specifically doing them at the start of each day. The challenge is being able to say “no” to any opportunity or request for your time that doesn’t match these actions. – Steve Scott

You have to change the way you look at your problems. I can almost guarantee you’re looking at them the “hard” way, so go find the “effortless” path. – Farnoosh Brock

Success makes you complacent. Here’s my workaround: Set milestones. Once you achieve a milestone (i.e. income goal, etc.) quickly pursue another. And another. And another. Don’t let success lulls you to ‘sleep.’ – Ivan Widjaya

You cannot plan success; it’s beneficial not to shy away from simple or menial tasks, and to stay humble; never stop learning, and never ever stop believing in yourself. – Jens Oliver Meiert

In life you think “the rich get richer” – meaning if you have “something” you’ll get more of it. Well with success, the poor get richer AND the rich get richer. What do I mean? I mean as long as you keep persevering, setting goals, and striving for them you’re more likely to succeed in the future. Whether you succeed at the goal you set today, or fail at the goal you set today doesn’t matter – in either case, you are better off for future goals you set, than if you had never tried at all. – Sid Savara

You have to have a big vision, practical next steps, and an iterative process to toggle between the two. – Nigel Savage

Just keep working, take every opportunity and don’t give up.. one day success will hit you from the side you never expected it. (that’s happened to me) – Anty

I used to be daunted by big goals, mine as well as other people’s. Now I know that small steps, practiced over time, with feedback and peer support, can take you to some wonderful places you may never have imagined. Success isn’t a map to a specific destination but a general direction, and it’s the relationships you build with others – through generosity & empathy over time – that help you enjoy the journey while showing you the next steps to take. – John Stepper

Success is often a long game and can require just as much patience and stamina as any amount of luck, inspiration, insight or funding. – Adrian Swinscoe

That the most important part is to just start, if you have an idea the best thing you can do is start working on it and develop as it progress, either it will fail along the way and you will learn from it, or it will grow and develop with time. Executing and working instead of just thinking is the difference between successful people and everyone else. Motivation and positivity are also big things to have, you have to really believe what you’re doing is successful, in your mind you already made it, you’ve won, now you only need to get there, and staying positive along the journey is key because there will be mistakes/hardship/set backs etc, how you react to these situations is a big deal, if you are optimistic, you can always find solutions and keep moving forward. – Nir Alony

Success is a poor teacher. It seduces clever people into thinking they can’t fail. (I think Bill Gates is responsible for that quote.) – Jeremy Webb

You must focus on your goals with a tenacity that can only be held with a strong passion behind it. If you don’t “feel it,” chances are that you won’t succeed. I tell my clients (and I truly believe) that they can do literally anything they want, but they must first DECIDE to do so and then take inspired action to get there. The law of attraction is always working in your life, whether you believe it or not. But if you choose to focus on what you want and not what you don’t want, and on what you can control (as opposed to what you can’t), you can make it work in your favour, pretty much 100 percent of the time. – Angie Atkinson

I measure success by the impact it has to do good and make a positive difference for others. Success is fleeting but it is great motivation to participate in another opportunity to make a difference. – Jay Wojcik

Base your success on what makes your heart and soul sing, NOT on what others tell you is success. – Charles McCool

Success is all tenacity and hard work and a growth mindset. My favourite quote, “I never lose: either I win or I learn.” – Erica

There are no shortcuts to achieving lasting success. Most of the important work is not glamour or something that is visible. It’s the “90/10” rule: 90 percent of the work is done in preparation of executing on the 10 percent that is visible. – Marty McPadden

Success is often a result of a marathon of hard and boring work that no one sees or ever gets to know. It is something you do like shoot a million shots during practice so you can make the ones in the game. No one sees the practice. – Alex Genadinik

Success is reserved for only those that are truly committed to mastery and doing whatever it takes to attain it. It’s not until you’ve decided you’ll do what it takes (put in the work, time, money, energy, learning, value, etc…), that you’ll be worthy of success and attract it into your life. – Stefan James

Its all hard work and never easy. – Chris Voss

Success or failure is dependent on whether or not you keep at it. Every mistake you make brings you closer to your end goal. You have to keep going and not quit. Quitting without giving it all you’ve got is truly the only real failure. – Laura Kronen

The grass is not greener on the other side and success does not guarantee happiness. Success can be stressful, scary, and frustrating. I’d much rather deal with the stress of success than the alternative, but happiness and inner peace are other matters entirely. Have a separate plan for happiness that involves inner work and self-development. Pursue your plan for happiness and develop those habits right alongside your success plan in other areas. – Mike Bundrant

Your tribe affects your vibe. Surround yourself with people who inspire you to be a better person. – Lisa Stovall

It’s not contingent on hard work only, I’m afraid. EVERYONE works hard. To succeed you need to accumulate a body of work, have enough whitespace in your life that you’re able to notice opportunities when they present themselves, accept that you can’t take up EVERY opportunity, and accept that a lot of the time, success comes down to being in the right place at the right time. – Kelly Exeter

Mistakes are part of the learning process and mistakes are inevitable on the road to success. – Kelly Pfeiffer

It’s easy to define a success as a failure or a failure as a success. Instead of obsessing over what is a success or failure, aim to do work you’re proud of. Odds are that others will perceive that as successful regardless of how you define it. – David Berkowitz

It all comes down to self-awareness, commitment and focus. You can achieve anything you want if you are willing to pay the price. The goals you set for yourself should come from within so you won’t be discouraged when you face an obstacle or failure. – Tomas Laurinavicius

Be a leader, not a follower. Run with your own ideas, don’t feel like you need others to agree with you. Pick ideas that excite you and take you towards goals, that will naturally motivate you. Enjoy the journey rather than only the destination, that’s often the best part with the greatest growth. – Steve Moore

From not getting what you want, most likely comes the thing you want most. – Dan Western

Success opens its doors to those who learn to practically demonstrate what they have been told about. One needs to copy the rules of success through his own ideas. – Rohit Manglik

Try. Don’t worry if your going to be successful, just go out and do it. You only fail if you don’t learn from your experience. Go out and there and start working on something amazing – today. – Christopher Ryan

The idea of suceeding at something doesnt have to be overwhelming. Break it down into digestable segments and slowly tackle them, one at a time. Work on your goals each day, even just for 30 minutes and in time and you will get there. It works. Success takes time, there is no “easy button”. It’s not defined by a moment in time, but by a series of experiences and a lot of hard work. – Dr Carol Langlois

If things aren’t immediately successful, don’t feel like you need to drastically change course. Winning clients and making sales takes time. Too often I see fellow entrepreneurs make big changes too quickly instead of continuing to do what they do best. Patience plays a much bigger part in getting a business off the ground than what many realize. – Liz Jostes

Success is a state of mind. A highly positive state of mind is the number one determinant of success. After that not being afraid to “fail” — E.G. Daring to excel, taking the leap, diving in and just doing it despite your uncertainty and fear. – Jeff Street

I have learnt that it is better to strive for authentic success rather than just success, that way we get clear on what’s important to us, an inside out experience rather than being overly influenced by what others think. This way we can be happy and fulfilled. I have also learnt the principle of failing forward to get to the doorway of success. – Kath

Never quit! No matter what! I love the quote, ‘Success is on the same road as failure, it’s just a little further down the road.’ -Jack Hyles – Gwen Little

Success rarely takes a straight line. Sometimes being open to opportunities and possibilities can reframe what success even means. – Lee-Sean Huang

We love seeing people overcome failures and setbacks. “I tried, I succeeded, and it was easy!” That’s not a story we find inspiring because we know life doesn’t work that way. We all try things that don’t work, and we all have ideas that fall flat. The key is to be patient, flexible, and irrationally tenacious. – Megan Stonelake

Success isn’t a one path road; there are twists and turns and pivots and changes. I would never have guessed that I would have a Twins Mommy blog and that I would have two courses on it. My path was freelance writing and only recently have I adopted the blogging/course creator role. – Elna Cain

It’s all about focus and persistence. If you know what you want and consistently work towards it, success is inevitable. – Stephen Parato

It’s really hard to be the best at anything. It’s a hell of a lot easier (and more fun) to be very good at 2-3 different things and combine them. Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Leonardo da Vinci and Benjamin Franklin all did this to incredible effect. – Andrew Lync

Success is so much about simply showing up for yourself and having the right mindset. You’re not going to reach your goals if you’re constantly battling negativity and doubt in your mind. – Nicole Crane

You might feel that your goal is a long way off – or perhaps not even achievable at all. If you break down your goals into smaller manageable chunks they will be be more easy to complete. It’s also important to keep a track of how much you have accomplished and not only look at how much you still need to do. Looking back and seeing how much we have already got done provides us with the motivation we need to keep moving forward on our road to achieving our goals and success. – Katy Whitton

Many people believe that talent is key. But it really isn’t. It helps. But most success is gained from things that are learned. So I believe that vision, focus, commitment and perseverance to learn what you need to move forward is key. – Carma Spence

It’s not a new strategy or skillset but rather passion and perseverance that will get you to your goal. When you fail, pivot and keep moving forward. – Aaron Hoos

Leadership is a privilege and responsibility. As a nurse, I know life is short. It is important to me to be true to myself. This means being clear and honest about what I am able to do, listening respectfully to others, owning my mistakes and learning from them, and hanging in there when things feel shakey. As long as I maintain my integrity and practice teaching with compassion and curiosity, I will consider myself successful. – Beth Boynton, RN, MS

It’s a much better idea to base your idea of success on your level of joy and satisfaction with what you do/have done than on what other people think. Sometimes those closest to us are our most impactful critics, so watch what you take on as truth. Perseverance counts more than you realize. – Ayamanatara

Success is predictable and simple (definitely not easy). In many cases, someone has already done what you want to do – just learn and apply. It is also important to be rigid on your goal, but to be flexible on your approach. – Nissar Ahamed

When you do something you love you are more likely to be successful. Instead of trying to spread yourself too thin, have a greater focus and find your passion. Learn from your mistakes and don’t be afraid to admit defeat. – Anna Wood

I’m not sure people don’t know this, but you have to fail. You have to endure mistakes. You can’t glide through forever. You can for a long time, but not forever. Mistakes and failures are the best teachers, because they cost you something. I have a saying, “Lessons are expensive.” And that’s ok. Make use of your spend, whatever commodity it took. – Erica Mossholder

Overnight success takes about 5-10 years in general (but is less exciting to read about / watch films on). Failure is the best path to success – it builds you up, teaches you and makes you hungry to make the next venture a success. – Sophie Le Brozec

Success is not a financial amount. It is the small pieces in everyday life that make it worth living. – Kevin Smith

I’ve learned that there are four keys to life and career success. 1) Clarity — you have define exactly what success means for you. 2) Commitment — You have to take personal responsibility for your success, and choose to respond positively to negative people and events. 3) Confidence — You have to believe in yourself. Optimism, hanging our with positive people and facing your fears and acting are the best ways to build your confidence. 4) Competence — You have to develop the technical skills necessary to succeed in your field. You also have develop career management skills. – Bud Bilanich

That you often have no need to re-invent the wheel to establish success! – Bob

Success and failure are actually so similar and are not opposites. Failure and success are a necessary and integral part of one another. Each require you to step up and become something more, both require you to learn new ways of responding to your world. Success can sometimes be a delayed response, for actions we had taken in the past. Reward for action might not tangibly show up for months, even years later. Successful outcomes require continuous forward movement, many times that might be in the face of zero evidence. Many leaps of faith, continued momentum and forward steps in the direction of your desired outcome(s) is required along any journey to success with any endeavour. Simply be crystal clear about your personal definition of success and how you will know with certainty when you’ve achieved your success. Too often we buy into another’s definition of success. Create your own and trust your own. – Thea Westra

You should not measure success based on others’ opinions or social numbers, instead, measure your personal success by your growth and by the peace that surpasses all understanding. In others words, ask yourself if you are at peace with your success. If the still small voice we each have in our minds grants you peace, celebrate that! If you are unsettled, search for the reasons why and how you can learn and make it better. – Mavian Arocha-Rowe

I think one of the things that has helped me feel more zen about my successes and not-yet-successes is setting goals that I can actually achieve. I can, for instance, go to four networking events per month or apply for two writing residencies this year or send letters of introduction to five prospective clients per week. Those are things within my control. Things I can do and feel good about doing. As opposed to the goals I used to set–things like “meet the right partner”–that have factors outside my control. I find it’s much more productive to keep your end goal in mind (meet the right partner), but to judge yourself not on whether or not you find that person but by whether or not you did what you could. Whether or not you went to those networking events or sent email introductions to interesting people. – Gigi Griffis

If you’re really working hard, then you’re always just scratching the surface. The surface just broadens little by little, day by day. Focus on what happens behind closed doors and the attitude you have towards your work when you’re alone; purify it. – Ari Banayan

Success is nothing more than persevering when perseverance is hard. It isn’t an event; it’s a state of being. One that is maintained with consistent effort, and one that is lost when principles are abandoned. – Eli McCann

You reap what you sow. It’s in your mind. If you set your mind to succeed you will. If you set your mind on doubts and failures that is what you will reap. – Kim Delgado

For me, success has come unplanned. I didn’t start my blog for money or recognition, I started it because of the sheer pleasure of expressing myself. Because I didn’t set myself any goals, I had no pressure and writing didn’t feel like work or burden, which consequently, allowed me to put more time and ultimately effort into it, so eventually I succeeded. I got the money and recognition I didn’t expect to get. – Tanya Korobka

Keep an open mind – everything you know is only true if you believe it is. Question everything you have ever known and remember that there is no one answer to any question. People that fail do so because they think they have all the answers and they do not have an open mind. – Margaret Buj

Being aware of your FOMO (fear of missing out), and realizing that when you say no to things you are saying yes to something else, can help you succeed. Know where you want to go to know when to say no so you can say yes to your definition of success. – Birna Dröfn Birgisdóttir

Do what you love. Your passion and perseverance will be its own reward to a happy life. – Sean Van Tyne

Success is a journey, not a destination. We (myself included) get very hung up on the outcome; our goal rather than enjoying the process. I believe we do ourselves a disservice when this happens and we rob ourselves from many opportunities to learn along the success journey. – Scott Rowley

Knowing who you are and what you’re living for can give you the motivation, focus, and perseverance to succeed. Success can mean different things to different people. Taking time to see how you’re serving something bigger than yourself can provide you with essential energy that continually recharges you. And amidst all the striving for success, remember to stop and smell the roses along the way, so you can enjoy the success you’ve already found! – Cynthia Sue Larson

Success is about giving and takin and not expecting what you do for others to be reciprocated. Success comes from hard work and long hours and giving up things in your life that you may not be able to fit into your schedule; so there is a cost to success and you need to be prepared for the good and the not so good in achieving your ambitions. – Donny Walford

You work a lifetime to create an overnight success. – Sheila Callaham

Succeeding is probably going to be harder than you thought and take longer than you expected. Additionally, your ultimate success may not look at all as you originally envisioned it. Be open to the process, be flexible in changing direction when needed, and let inevitable moments of discouragement provide a catalyst for reflection but never an excuse for giving up. – Elizabeth Miller

I have learned that success is only a hair away from failure. What I mean by that is you can do everything right and still fail, and you can do many things wrong but some things right (the “right” things, as determined by a combination of luck, timing, and preparation), and succeed. Also, failure could be one of the final steps before success. So essentially, keep going, keep learning, keep picking yourself up after you fall. Fail forward, and success will inevitably follow. Additionally, you are always a step away from failure, so celebrate your successes, and understand that success is forward moving too. You have to keep working even after you’ve found success, because failure is but a single misstep away. – Lauren Ashley Lobley

Success is a result of Competence (Talent, Skills, Knowledge & Experience) combined with Attitude (Positivity, Perseverance, HardWork, Commitment, Passion). Its 99% perspiration & 1% Chance. – Ramesh Ranjan

I believe that your mindset is everything. The way you think about yourself, your goals and the people around you will have a huge bearing on how successful your project will be. Keep your thoughts, words & actions positive. – Becky O’Haire

To succeed yourself and in your business you should first be able to help others succeed themselves and in their business. – Bharat Karavadra

Success is about aiming higher and taking action every day to reach that vision. While happiness is about enjoying the present moment without trying to change it. When we find the balance between these two, then we can live a good life. – Lidiya K

Success doesn’t happen without passion. Passion can’t be there without a deep sense of purpose and understanding of your whys. – Iliyana Stareva

Aim for bigger goals that what you think is possible. You’ll do bigger, bolder things for larger goals than you would for “safe” goals. Even if you don’t hit the big goals, you’ll still be much further along than if you played small. – Sage Grayson

If you desire something with the totality of your being, you will achieve it – The impossible becomes possible through patience and commitment – Christopher Rivas

Every person has their own definition of success (money, fame, free time etc). Define what you feel it means to be successful stay true to it. – Matt Roberge

You probably won’t realize you’re successful until you look back on it from the future. The present moment will always feel tough and not good enough. No need to dwell on those feelings, simply keep pushing forward and you will get there. – Nikki Bruno

Try , fail and learn. There are all the chances that you will fail at first few attempts, however the lessons and learnings from those failure are the real ladders to your next success. Have faith and belief in yourself and never stop trying and putting the efforts. Hard work always pays. – Naveen Kulkarni

Success isn’t about you. Success is about the lives you touch through the actions you take. – Joseph Lalonde

My greatest successes have always come from a place of being pulled: pushing against the tide or being yanked by others’ expectations can lead to forward movement, but the most enduring successes, the huge leaps forward, always come from going with the flow of the Universe. – Liza Baker

Success doesn’t necessarily mean lots of money and a fast car; it looks different for everyone. – Vicky Charles

Success is more than just having a great idea or believing in yourself. Success is working your butt off so that other people experience the impact of your good idea. Having a good idea without “getting it out there,” and without hard work to make it happen, isn’t success. – David Bennett

Believing in what you are doing and having a strong commitment to it’s success are the most important ingredients for favorable outcomes – Nora Hall

If you fail, you need to brush yourself off and start over again. You can’t give up – if you have that feeling in your gut that what you are trying to achieve is attainable, then you have to keep trying!! – Dana Brillante Peller

Money doesn’t define success, but it sure keeps me from being homeless. – KJ Landis

Success is incredibly subjective and fluid. Meaning, the measure of success is not only different for each individual, but as we learn, grow, and gain more awareness of ourselves, our own measures of success better change as well. – Melissa Eisler

You have to fail to know what works and doesn’t work, but failing is not a bad thing. Success is fun, but the learning process and the behind the scenes is a lot of work! – Lisa Thompson

Success is a mindset thing. If you think and feel you are successful, you will more likely to be so, as you will find the successful aspects in circumstances, no matter what they are. – Jane Duncan Rogers

My definition of success is being able to be my own boss, make my own schedule and pull my own strings. – Marla Martenson

Everyone has a different interpretation of what “success” means. Don’t get hung up on how others measure success. Instead, tune into what’s important to you. For some, that may be a big income or fame. For others, success may be defined as being of service. Meditate on what drives you and what feels good to you. Define success on your own terms. – Theresa Reed

Success depends on how you define it. To me, success is defined by knowing that I did my research, put in my time and worked my hardest to reach a certain goal. Reaching the specific goal, while important, is not the definition of success. Success is knowing that I applied myself, learned along the way and “Left it all out there.” – Beth Risdon

Success is the ability to achieve something, even if it is not exactly what you were striving for. In my opinion, successful people are the ones who show up, show commitment, work ethic, and motivation to get there. Even if the results were not exactly what they wanted, I think that a person should consider themselves successful for staying committed and focused in the process! – Sierra Charlesworth

There are no ‘overnight’ successes. You’ve got to figure out YOUR definition of success and then find ways to make progress on that over a long period of time. – Shawn Kinkade

Sometimes success has the appearance of luck. But perseverance helps you to be in the “right place at the right time with the right people. – Karen

There are 5 major domains of life: Health, Finances, Relationships, Spirit, Profession). If you attain and maintain balance in these domains, you are successful (and happy!!!).
Remember, strong Spiritual/Mental growth is extremely important. If you don’t pay attention to this, other 4 domains will automatically start deteriorating. So establish daily connection with God and never stop learning. ” – Junaid Tahir

Your definition of success will change many times, and when it does change, embrace it. Don’t get pressured by what is considered the norm. – Noemi Twigg

Success is entirely how you feel about yourself and your life NOW. It’s not some pinpointed time in the future. All that will happen in the future is that you will receive recognition of your success. If you decide to write a ‘great’ novel, when are you successful? When you decide, when you write, when someone else tells you it’s great, when you get paid? – Laura & Mark Tong

Success is not a straight and predictable path. There will be ups and downs along the way and there will be times when you’ll just want to throw in the towel and give up. You need an unwavering will, a courageous heart and sharp mind to continue moving forward till you reach your visions. Be willing to go with the flow and constantly get feedback so that you can fine tune your strategy for success. – Seline Shenoy

Perseverance was the key of my success. I made lots of mistakes and learned by them. I know today that hard work and commitment will pay off, sooner or later. – Erik Emanuelli

A lot of people thought that success is something big, but it is really not. Success is about taking the small and consistent action each day. Success is about doing the small things right. – Shawn Lim

Most people who are not successful, aren’t successful due to a lack of talent or skill, but rather they don’t appreciate what success means to them. They follow other people’s version of success, always striving for more. But they don’t know what ‘more’ is, so they never know when they reach it (they never know whether they are satisfied or not). So they replace X with Y and repeat the cycle. Success only comes once you define it, and define it for you and only you. – Matthew Turner

The first step to success is to create specific goals for what you want your life to be like. Without goals most people will end up going with the flow of life to wherever their circumstances take them. When you have clear goals about what you want then only time and effort separates you from where you want to be. – Steve Burns

Being successful has much to do with luck. Luck arrives when you take chances and engage with the world. So, step up to the plate and try things. The more you try, the better chance of discovering a hidden talent and arriving at a successful outcome. – Ravi Raman

Success to me means having positive relationships with my family, close friends, and coworkers. What the world pushes as ‘success’ – a prestigious job, high salary, big house, and fancy car – does not equate to a flourishing, happy life. Instead, what the 75-Year Harvard study proved is that no test score or high salary predicts a happy, healthy life. Instead, it is our positive connections with others that are most important in predicting a good life. In order to flourish and have a life deemed ‘successful’ we need to keep positive relationships as our top priority. Incidentally, when we have good interpersonal skills and solid relationships, we end up having more success in both our family lives and our careers. But it’s the relationships that always need to come first. – Audrey Monke

Success is a complicated mix of luck and hard work – but you’ll never get lucky if you’re not working hard. – Anne Krarup

We say failure is not an option, when in reality it is our failures that are our most teachable moments. Learning from our setbacks are what create our successes. So the next time you become upset by your “failure”, realize it is simply a jumping off point to a new level of achievement. – Caroline Earle

In order to feel successful, you must define success for yourself. Don’t use society’s or anyone else’s definitions. It’s not about money, titles or fame. Success can mean having the time and energy to be present with the people most important to you. It can mean living comfortably debt-free. It can mean being able to spend every morning sipping your coffee on your front porch watching the local wildlife. Success is whatever makes your heart happy. – Paige Burkes

Failure is 100% intrinsic to success. Period. End of subject. For some reason we all think that we’re not going to spectacularly fail along the way and that when we do, it’s because there’s something wrong with us. What’s wrong is that thinking. The average millionaire goes bankrupt more than twice. It took Edison more than 10,000 tries to invent the lightbulb. Either get used to failing and picking yourself up – again and again and again and again – or don’t bother trying to succeed in the first place. – Marley Majcher

We generally only see the outcome of success, and we call it natural talent or luck. We don’t see the thousands of hours of hard work, practice, and perseverance that leads to that success. – Scott Sery

Have an idea of where the bull’s eye on the dart board is, or else you won’t know if you hit your mark. Be sure to have organizational systems in place to support you so that you don’t miss out on opportunities. Hire out for things that aren’t in your wheelhouse. It will save you time and money in the end. And, it will free you up to do the things that you are good at. – Gretchen Hydo

Comparing yourself to yourself is the only real measurement of success. Success is what you define it to be, not what anyone else says it should be. – Megan Olson

Failures are the breeding ground of success. You’ll get the most insight, have the best ideas and start the next successful thing when you hit a failure point. Use your failures to learn, understand and gather insight. When you take 3 steps back after a stumble, you might be setting yourself up to run 100 yards forward. When it feels like you’re going backwards, you might be in fact launching forward. – Vishu’s Virtues

I don’t what your readers know or not. I attribute my success to good attitude, luck and hard work. I also know that being happy contributes to success. Also good company, healthy delicious food, breathing deeply and smiling. – Betsy

Most skills required for success in life can be learned. You are the only one standing in your way of learning the skills and putting them to good use. – James Pollard

I’ve learned that I succeed more than I know. People view me as successful while I don’t think of myself as successful. So I’m working on not being so self-critical and embracing all my successes – Molly Larkin

Success is very personal. Each one of us should have our own idea on how success look and feel like. Unfortunately, most of the times, we’re subconsciously buy other people’s definition of success–based on the society we live in. The most valuable thing for me was getting the clarity on who I am and who I want to be, and define my own success based on my values and beliefs. This makes success meaningful to me. – Hanny Kusumawati

There are no shortcuts. You need hard work, clear goals and a plan to lead you to achieving your goals! – Takis Athanassiou

You can be successful when you least expect it. Sometimes what you thought you wanted and would make you successful isn’t actually what the success is or needs to be. – Linda Hill

You already have more tools than you give yourself credit for. Start every day with gratitude for the best ‘moments’ of the previous day. Surround yourself with the people who make you better (get rid of negative people in your life).
Giving back is critical…be generous. You have enough. – Steve Gamlin

You have to define what success looks like for you and not compare your life to others. Success is not just about how much money you’re making but how are you succeeding in every area of your life. – Siobhan Sudberry

I know it takes a courageous character to choose the life of an artist or entrepreneur, especially when you know the paycheck may not be equal to your talent, and your best work may be rejected. However, I have learned that when that moment of do or die finally arrives, all I really need is 20-seconds of insane courage to mute my inner critic, knock fear on its ass, and send uncertainty scream’n for the door! – J. Michael Dola

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle which involves practicing my 7 Essential Healthy Habits for Optimal Mind Body health (including maintaining an attitude of gratitude, mindful living, getting good sleep, staying hydrated, meditating and regular exercise and living to serve others) allows for me to stay in the flow and connected to what and who’s important for my success. That said, life is about cycles, jagged peaks and valleys. While we can’t avoid the challenging or low cycles and the inevitable pain associated with being human beings, we can avoid suffering and weather those cycles with more grace and ease. Through cultivating more awareness around our triggers and patterns and again, through practicing the 7 Essential Habits (healthy living) at least 80% of the time, we CAN make the highs higher and the lows higher and the time between the two shorter. Does that make sense? I can’t stress enough how important it is to understand that just like we can choose how to react to everything that happens to us, we can can choose to be happy or not. I have learned I’m happiest when I’m serving others though my work, volunteer efforts or simply by being kind to everyone I meet. – Magen Banwart

Success is the sum of failure. It’s the product of getting up from the fall and dusting your knees off, assessing why you tripped, and planning for that hiccup in the “re-do”. It’s long hours of trying. It’s moments of darkness when you don’t know if you are going to see light. It’s sweet. It’s brilliance. It’s the reward for getting up and over and over and trying again and again. Success is the fiber that makes us carry on. – Julee Morrison

You are your number 1 greatest asset. Improve and develop that asset daily. 2) Relationships are your second greatest asset. Your net worth is equal to your network. 3) There are two strategies to solve ANY problem and tackle any challenge. First look at what skill sets you need to solve the problem and tackle the challenge. If the skill set cannot be acquired in the time needed, look at who you can outsource the skill set to.It comes down to “what do I know?” and then, “who do I know?”. – M.C. Laubscher

Perseverance is the key. Difficulties come no matter who you are or what you pursue; the key is sticking with your goals and dreams. Never give up. – Michael Hopkin

That only you can really define it. If you allow your industry or peers to set the bar for success you will always be chasing something that may not even be something you want. Understand your core desire, your why, and from there let everything fall. Sometimes you will accomplish things that you thought were important and find out that they aren’t to you. So set your focus on things that matter to you and only you. Be authentic with what YOU want to achieve no matter how big or small it is. – Jamie Hyatt

You will likely fail at least once and that is how you will learn. We all measure success differently; translated to ‘don’t compare yourself to others’. – Carol Cameleon

The absolute best thing you can do for yourself in terms of success is to learn to face or do the things that make you uncomfortable or you assume will be a headache. A majority of the time it’s not as bad as you thought, or just takes practice/repetition to no longer be a source of anxiety. – Amanda Guerassio

Success can only be measured internally. External success doesn’t matter much at all. – Bron Maxabella

Trust your gut instinct, just do it, get up , do it again, change something, do it again, and again, and again. – Ronit

I cannot overemphasize the importance of believing in yourself. Individuals who, without reservation, believe in themselves are capable of anything! It’s belief in yourself that fuels you through the tough days. – Joi Tania Sigers

Entrepreneurs who are purely chasing the money are usually the ones who crash and burn. Success comes from doing what you love and learning as you go. Money is secondary to that. – Kellie Anderson

Success is something you can direct in your own direction. It is about visualisation, perseverance and being motivated. Success will come to those who fight for it. – Bernie Smith

Don’t be afraid of trying things and asking questions. – Natasha Kundi

Success can be fulfilled in many different ways as we grow. – Tina

By setting specific, action-based goals and being intentional with your time, energy and focus, you will be able to make progress towards your definition of success. Knowing your “why” and making it a part of your regular routine will help you to recognize your success for what it is – a personal achievement that impacts you, your family, your business and those you are called to serve within your business. – Michelle D Garrett

Success is about finding what interests you and doing the work to make it become reality. – Gillian Grannum

We can give the most when we are living lives we love. We can be the best partners, parents, friends, business owners etc., when we are feeling nurtured, fulfilled, inspired and self expressed. We can have the biggest impact on social and community changes when we are feeling confident and powerful. – Shann VanderLeek

You need to define in advance what constitutes success. It’s not always that obvious. – Tim Moss

Your biggest obstacle is you. Don’t hold yourself back because you are afraid or don’t have all the answers because you will never have all the answers. A big part of success is simply trying. – Dorothy Tannahill-Moran

Success is not always to hit your goals. Sometimes success is walking the way to the goals. And in my experience you get what you need not what you want when it comes to success. You can have a lot of thoughts of what success is, but you only know when you are “there”. And “there” is not always at the end of the road. – Maj Wismann

Don’t give up because you will want to especially if you’ve tasted failure, maintain a positive mindset and set aside time every day to visualize your success. – Cindy Bokma

Neither success nor failure is permanent. Realize that this is a journey and don’t settle down, as the dynamism of each moment will leave you behind. Find and cultivate resources (groups, mentors, intellectual and spiritual anchor points) that you may grow and return to over time. Commit to perpetual learning and view change as flow and not disruption. – Jeffrey Hora

Success is nothing that just happens. Success requires hard work and determination. If you are not willing to put in the most of it you won’t get out the most of it, easy as that. Keep your goals realistic, Rome wasn’t build in a day! Consistency, determination and endurance will get you there. – Klaudia @ Klaudia’s Corner

Success does not happen overnight. You have to work hard for something that you want. Do not expect to see the results of your efforts right away. First, you have to set your goals. Remind yourself of these goals every single day. Everything that you do must be connected with your goals. Keep it easy. Enjoy the journey to success! – Algene C.

Success looks different for everyone. Don’t compare yourself to other people. – Carly

It doesn’t come easy or with luck. You have to know your “stuff” and commit to it. Then you have to practice over and over until you perfect it. – Gayle Carson

Success can be celebrated. As a high-achiever, I used to just move on to the next thing. Have a circle that you can brag to, if only for a moment, and celebrate what you’ve done. – Marcey Rader

There is a crumb of success within every loaf of failure. Find it. Then toss your failure to the birds, and try a new recipe. – Chris Marshall

Success comes in waves, there are times that feel filled with ease and times that are rough. Also, success is relative and fleeting, you’ll constantly searching for outside success unless you find a sense of internal success within yourself. – Katie Dalebout

That it doesn’t always look the way we think it will. Sometimes it simply means going to bed with a smile, and anticipating tomorrow. – Francine Clouden

Ugh! I don’t care for the word “success” much because it has so many judgments around it.

I’m never going to attain the “success” I think I’m after. Even when I get there, I’m going to need to chase something else.

If you REALLY want to feel successful:

#1 – Define what “success” is for you. What does it look and feel like? How will you know when you’ve achieved it?

#2 – Keep asking that question until you boil it down to the specific tangibles and intangibles that define success for you.

#3 – Ask yourself, how can you feel and embody that success today?

If you aren’t feeling successful today, you never will be. And once you carry that success internally, no one and nothing can take it from you. – Stephanie Padovani

What I have learnt on my journey is that success is hard to come by but that’s what makes it so satisfying when you achieve it. Behind every success there are hundreds of failures, and the key is to learn from every one. As the saying goes ‘never give up’ keep improving, keep learning, your day will come. – Larry Lewis

Just having fun is the first step. If you love what you do, and are committed, the rest comes with time. Don’t give up if you enjoy it. The results may not be immediate and that does not mean you aren’t doing a great job. – Wren LaPorte

I learned that you have everything you need within you to be successful – you just have to trust yourself. You must be willing take the time to discover what makes you unique and celebrate that and utilise your unique gifts to be of service to others. That is how you can be truly fulfilled in your work and make the biggest impact in the world. – Megan Tull

I think it is important to define success for ourselves, because ultimately I believe success is knowing the life you want and creating it for yourself. If you’re happy, you’re successful And I think it is important to know we deserve ‘success’ for simply being, and not based on what we do or how hard we work. It is not something that needs to be ‘earned.’ – Kelli Cooper

I thought my life was going to change when I hit 4 million website visitors in a year and started making over $3000 a month in “passive” income. Then I realised that nothing in life is passive. I, you, we, have got to step out + SHOW UP every day, be committed and consistent to be successful. When I didn’t do these things, I slipped right back to where I started. Two more points – 1) comparing your “behind the scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel” (not my quote) and 2) basing your happiness + self worth on how much money you make, will make you solidly miserable. Be smart, don’t fall into that trap. – Tia Sparkles

Success means you also fail many times and you also keep on trying even after you succeed. Break down your goal into bite size achievement steps and you stand a better chance of getting there. And….enjoy the ride to success. – Marsha Lindquist

“From an article I wrote titled, “Enjoy the Journey”

The day-to-day work may seem mundane. The meeting may seem useless, the new article you write may seem like it will never be read, the book you read may not seem useful at all, but you do it all because you have your eye on a higher prize, a larger goal. A goal you may, I’m sorry to say, never reach. But that’s okay. Because the journey is the absolute best. To even have the opportunity to be in this game at all is what you should be grateful for. Enjoy the journey. – Eric Kasimov

We all have our definition of success. Some people think it is money. Others think it is happiness. Given that success is a concept, it can be real or a lie regardless of how it is defined. In the end, the one thing that matters is if we had fulfilled our purpose. – Robert Lee

Being an entrepreneur isn’t for the faint-hearted. You need a huge amount of faith, self-belief, and dogged determination. But I truly believe if you create a product or service that’s unique, innovative, and useful to a broad base of consumers, people will sit up and take notice. – Kunbi Tinuoye, CEO of urbangeekz.com

Success is relative to where you see yourself. The search for success begins with the goals that you set for yourself. Therefore; I have learned to judge my success by my current vision for my life; not the vision scripted by other’s vision. – Quinetha Frasier

They come when you least expect them and they often come after a failure. – Jasmine Watts

What I have learnt is that the “Success” is not any event, it’s the process! So whenever you are working hard for your goals, you are always in the process of success. You may achieve it in one form or the way but definitely you will succeed if you work hard enough for you. Always remember, none of your efforts go in vain, you’ll always learn/experience something that you can use for the future challenges in your life. – Vishnu Verma

Almost everybody knows what they need to do to succeed. Not everybody has the strength to follow their own advice. Get out of your own way. – Colin Robertson