Success Got Complicated, Then It Got Simple
It’s complicated, but it’s simple. My definition of success has changed. But it hasn’t.
In Kindergarten, success was getting all of the crayon inside the lines. If I messed up and colored outside the lines, that was terrible.
In 3rd grade, I thought success was getting 100% on my test. If I received 94%, that wasn’t failure exactly, but it also wasn’t success.
In 9th grade, I thought success was getting higher than 95% on my test. 88% wasn’t failure exactly. It was a B.
In college, I thought 90% was success. It was an A. But if I got a B, that was pretty good as well.
After college, I realized a 90% success rate didn’t happen in most other parts of life. Well, except in driving. If I failed at that, I wouldn’t live. So, I had to get 100% there. But, in everything else, I was going to fail a lot. I wasn’t going to be right most of the time. Some of my ideas were going to flop. I would get hired. I would get fired. I would apply and get rejected. I would jump high and land wrong. I would apply, then get accepted only to discover it wasn’t what I wanted. I would spend money and lose it. I would invest money and have no idea what happened. What I would think was a whole lot of money would turn out, years later, to be of no consequence.
Life would change. My definition of success would change.
So, what is success? It’s working hard and achieving the goal. It is deciding what you want and then sticking to the plan. It’s choosing to wake up every day and pursue something.
Success is getting back up even when you’ve just fallen on your face for the 50th time.
Success is deciding to pursue a new idea even when you’re not sure it will work.
Success is attempting SOMETHING even when you feel unsure of what you should be doing.
Success is, quite simply, deciding every moment to put one foot in front of the next in order to move forward.
Success is continuing to push forward every day, realizing that the journey is not over…until it is.
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About The Author
My name is Robert Kennedy III. I’m a leadership and communication speaker, trainer and author. I recently released 7 Ways To Know You Were Meant To Lead on Amazon. Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebookor on my website, RobertKennedy3.com.
