The Real Meaning of Success

How I found my definition changing.

Success looks different for everyone.

For some, it can be a promotion in their job. For others, it can be watching their children graduate from college. For me, I always envisioned that success meant being able to live comfortably and having the freedom and the financial stability to not worry about putting food on the table. It means being able to travel the world and not being cooped up in a cubicle for the rest of your life.

Yet, as I grew older, I found my definition of success changing. I started believing that success looked like a big house in a suburban neighborhood where your nearest neighbor lived a mile away. Where you found yourself in the office more than your own home because being the CEO of a company meant that no one else could fulfill your role.

Success no longer looks like happiness to me.

Success no longer looks like happiness to me. It is a finish line that can only be crossed by following certain steps. You are to graduate from a prestigious university with a great job and a great partner who you soon turn into your spouse. You will start a family and return to school to receive your Masters degree. You will spend the rest of your life working to pay off all of your expenses.

This is no longer the life I envisioned for myself. I always dreamed of spending my mornings roaming the streets of Paris and my nights in a daze in London. A life where my work has an impact on people’s lives, especially those who were never given the opportunities I was granted. Where I am able to provide my parents with a life as great as they have given me.

But I do not want to achieve this success through an endless cycle of work, nor do I want to follow a blueprint of steps. Instead, I want to achieve it while also prioritizing my happiness and my relationships, which seems like an impossible ask.

Through hearing the stories of others, I was able to realize that a different definition of success existed and was reachable. An example of which belonged to my previous mentor. Not only was she able to start her business in an industry that was completely different than the one she received her degree for, but she was also able to work with clients online while spending months living in different countries and places. She is constantly trying new things, such as surfing. Her husband doesn’t usually work at the same company for more than a couple of months, simply because he wants to be constantly challenged in new environments and with new projects.

Learning from my mentor’s lifestyle taught me that success is more than just a couple of digits in your bank account. It is about freedom and happiness. It is not something that you chase after and there is no certain way to achieve it. It is all about how you view your life and the decisions you make to change it.

I hope to one day live a life where my race to the finish life becomes a journey with no clear destination in sight.