Chapter 1 : What is your definition of Success?

Success, what is your definition of success? Apparently we work 80,000 hours in a life time. When we reach 40,000 hours, most of us will think about whether we would like to work another 40,000 hours doing the same thing. My brother told me there are 3 ways of living : survival, successful and significant. I want significant. I want more. I know there is more. That is why I am writing this.I've been thinking a lot about the word SUCCESS. It seems that most people think it's a SUBJECTIVE question, its whatever makes you happy. For some people its monetary and recognition , for others its a partner and family. But is it really subjective? Is one successful if no one else around them regards their life as inspiring? If everyone thinks they are successful but they themselves don’t feel successful, are they successful? Can we change the world and have a family at the same time?CAN WE HAVE IT ALL?IF it is indeed subjective, why is it then that ALL of us have an inbuilt desire to succeed and have the fear of the opposite ( the F word) .Googles definition of success is : The fulfilment of an aim or purposeThe recent tragedies of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain taking their own lives after achieving so much, does that not cry out that we/the world need to redefine success and that there is something intrinsically the same for all of us that we are looking for and living towards?Perhaps success is not subjective afterall. Rather there is a CONFUSION around the definition of success. And there is confusion because there is no reference point or standard of measuring success? What if its not subjective but relative which is a different thing to subjective. What if you can measure success and there is a standard? What if success is knowing your limits and limits is certainly objective?As Jordan Peterson says, it would change everything IF people actually knew what success meant.The consensus asking 20 of my friends ( a good mix in terms of career, relationship and family status ) ….almost all of them think its a subjective definition, something to do with happiness, potential, goals, fulfillment, making a difference in the lives of others, something bigger than just yourself, relationships, growth, progress, that it changes over diff stages in life, that its different for everyone.How do you define success?Watching the soccer players during the world cup made me wonder what is next AFTER they kick that goal and win the ultimate glory. No wonder so many athletes and young stars have depression and feel lost, what happens when you reach your dream or the epiphany of what the world defines as success before the age of 25? What can possibly match up after that?I personally would attempt to define success as this :Not necessarily the attainment of but the determination to FIGURING out and PURSUING the dream that has been given to each and one of us and having the humility to respect our LIMITS. And en J - O - Y the journey.I don’t like to use the word happiness as it is often self focused and dependant upon circumstances. I prefer the word JOY (which is my business mission statement to bring JOY) and maybe the measurement of success is being on the right track and having JOY along the way?Have a read of PROVERBS 8 where the Focus is on wisdom ( the purpose and journey ) rather than success ( the outcome ).And where am I getting at? Why am I trying to define success? Because success doesn’t just happen. And when it happens people are not ready for it. I want more for people. I want people to live well. I want people to live at their best. I want to be there to1) FIGURE out what your dream is and2) PURSUE that dream within your LIMITS and3) enJOY the journeyxxNeiyoPS Picture taken by the amazing Miranda Stokkel of future Neiyo