How do you define 'success' in life?

Question

Is tangible, intangible, a bit of both?

Answer 1

To love and to be loved, to gain the respect of others, to
leave the world a better place than you found it, to treat
others with kindness, respect and dignity, lots of things.

Answer 2

It's both tangible and intangible. Your life is successful if you have helped others, created works of art / music / literature, raised a child, fulfilled your goals, paid your debts, dissolved your karma or developed yourself spiritually. If the world has become a better place by your being in it. True success has nothing to do with money or career, unless your career makes the world a better place.

Answer 3

Everyone's definition of success will be different, based on their values. Someone who values money will define success as the accumulation of wealth. Someone else might define success as reaching a certain position in their profession, like a doctor being chief of staff, or a business person owning their own business, or a writer having their book listed on the New York Times Best Seller List. For some, it's all about family and friends, or being a contributing member of their society. It's whatever motivates you to keep on improving in some area of your life, and - when you get there - you know you have achieved success.

Answer 4

Success is the accomplishment of something that is important to you. When we talk about Success Philosophy, we are talking about identifying the behaviors that create success or failure in all our endeavors. When you can identify the traits that truly successful people have, and see the areas of your life that need work, you can move toward more success in your own life.

We've grouped these areas of personal development into Four Dynamics, which identify the processes of which we need to take control to move our lives forward.

Place your cursor over an area of the circle and explore the Dymanics. All Four Dynamics form a circle so that you can start or end anywhere, and as you can see by the diagram, they overlap, just like in life, and have a constant effect on all the decisions we make as we go about our lives.

So begin creating more control over your life path with one of the Four Dynamics:

Choice / Change
Self Image / Mental Model
Attitude / Risk
Eliminating Failures Increasing Successes /
by Developing:
Character
Values
Goals

Answer 5

How I define success is different than the society in which I live defines success. Success is the ability to complete a task, a goal, a objective or an agenda.

Anyone who measures success in terms of objects and belongings lives in a fool's world.

If you are successful because of the fancy car you drive, the minute your car has been stolen you are no longer successful.

Answer 6

Is tangible as long as you "attempt" to make the right choices in your life... Life is a constant Battle!! I will always consider myself successful as long as I keep trying, even if I fail sometimes!! I never give up!! That is success for me!!

Answer 7

I love the Guru Yogananda, and his definition, which he spells out is a short pamphlet about the subject.

1. Success: On any given day, playing out the hand life has given you that day to the best of your ability, while making the planet a better place and/or helping out/being of service.

2. Enjoying yourself and taking in the beauty and flavors of life enjoying the senses, such as those sights, smells, tastes, sounds and textures which are pleasant to you.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Definitions of success which deal with accumulated wealth, annual income, fame, money, sexual conquests, number of children or wives, businesses owned, property owned, etc are ludicrous. If one were really to consider these as successes,almost no one would be successful.

Mother Theresa is successful and has little for herself. So was Jesus.

Answer 8

I would say it is to find a balance between self realisation and living in a shared reality where coexistence with others determines what is possible (going with or against) and how your self realisation can come to fruition without risking destruction or confinement.

I believe one should work to expand your possibilities through finding ways where others give you the scope for becoming. It is through the interactions with others where the self is revealed and created. Without other we are at best limited to existence, through others we can develop and explore. Our relationships give structure and definition to our existence which we can explore and give meaning to, making it our own, using these structures to create ourselves, which would be difficult to achieve in isolation. In turn we help define the possibilities of others, limiting or expanding their avenues through our input and control over the structure we set up between us. I believe the more we nurture a positive environment for growth in others, the more space we receive in return. Very few people give without expecting in return, even if it is just to have the same freedoms and possibilities they granted others.

So I define success, as I mentioned above, as achieving this balance within interactive relationships where our limitations are overcome through cooperation and good will. The more we give the more we can expect in return. This is a fine line, as each self proclaimed freedom risks interference with others freedoms, yet I feel a truce is possible, a win win situation where freedoms are guided, yet given the space to be expressed.

Answer 9

It's a bit of both. Success comes from both making something of your life* and from being content.

*By this, I mean having a job (or being a stay-at-home parent), an education if needed, and being competent and good at what you do. Money does not equal success, but being good at what you do and not being a lazy bum does! :-)

Answer 10

The ultimate definition of success is how happy you are with your life. For me it is a balance of what I have given to the world and what I have reaped.