Success…
What does it mean to you?
Trigger Movement are excited to bring you a new series of guest posts by Gary Worgan — a deep thinker, driven by a passion to help others to be brilliant and love what they do, you will find thought-provoking, often challenging ideas.
Belief #1
True success is not performance-based but relative to the individual. Determined by our own guiding principles, shaped by the very nature of our identity, purpose, beliefs, values and the way in which we have experienced the world.
“She’s made a real success of herself.” “Company ‘X’ annihilates its competition.” “How did you get on son? Did you win?” “My daughter just got into Oxford — she’s done so well!”
We hear talk about successful people all the time, as if it means the same to us all. Donald Trump projects himself to be a rich, successful businessman and has now reached the pinnacle — President of the United States. He has to be one of the most successful people around. Right?! Forbes has made popular, lists of the ‘richest Americans’, ‘world’s top companies’ and ‘the world’s billionaires’. In these lists, Bill Gates is commonly considered to be the most successful person — the world’s richest man.
Olympians are judged by their medal tally; musicians, their wealth; authors, copies sold; managers, status or salary; military, conquers; employees, KPIs hit.
If we do not judge our success based on our earnings, car, property, status, wins, power, performance indicators, friendship groups or our position in the social hierarchy, how else should we? In a previous blog, Stephen Moreton explored game-changing questions that we might ask ourselves: Let me be more intrusive…
How will you be remembered? How will you leave people feeling? What words will others use to describe you? Are you too busy to care? Too busy doing what?
The endless growth of popularised role models that choose not to hop off the treadmill and explore their answers to these questions are implicit in understanding the direction our children take when faced with big decisions in their life. What does success mean to them?
The word “success” combines two meaning from the Latin words: sub and cedere, meaning “to go up, to ascend, advance” and “to come under, to submit, follow, or enter into a relationship with.” Implicitly then, a successful world is defined by those that have more and those that follow.
What about a ‘winning mindset?’ What about advances in technology in research that have helped us achieve things we never thought possible? I hear you ask. Both excellent questions that demand exploring.
If a scientist unveils a breakthrough in cancer research that may save millions of lives, are they successful? They have achieved the very thing that their experiences have guided them towards, their purpose, their ‘why’. Perhaps, the very reason that got them into cancer research has been fulfilled. Their vision of a world where less people die unnecessarily is being realised. The nature of these findings however cannot be pinpointed to one person — but that doesn’t make for good press. We want a hero, we need a hero! Why is that?! Why are we unable to accept that there are so many people that do amazing things when they follow their guiding principles. People that we will remember with great fondness and respect. That is my definition of success, of winning.
Success needn’t be epic. In fact, it’s the little successes that contribute to our resting level of contentment. Every day I might not ‘help others allow themselves to be brilliant and love what they do’, but I can learn something new, leave the people I meet slightly warmer and supported, perhaps with stories waiting to be finished (pay it forward), I can attend to the concerns and desires of the people most important to me, I can continue the utterly fulfilling journey of the man I am becoming — or have become — or both.
I neither acknowledge the spiritual nor liberal label, but am highly inquisitive of human nature and who we are allowing to pull the strings on the decisions we make and the paths we choose.
I greatly value being asked to explore some of my personal beliefs over the course of a series of blogs, and how they have stood the test of thorough introspective, observational and conversational interrogation… so far.
I invite — or perhaps incite — you to continue the conversation…
What stories will others tell of us?
If you want to follow, debate and engage with Gary — please add a comment below, or get hold of him on Twitter @garyworgan
