“The only place Success comes before Work is in the dictionary”.
-Vince Lombardi
This statement came from one of the blogs that I follow. Sometimes it is the simplest statements make the most sense and strike a chord with us. Often, we look at others and think “wow, they got the lucky break”, or, ” they have had everything handed to them,” just because they are successful. In my opinion, success has to be earned – something that not only takes hard work, but also continual dedication, tenacity, and a strong desire to be the best.
Part of being successful is defining how one measures success. Think about losing weight, or changing your lifestyle: it takes work, not just a lot of work, but continual work. The same can be said about enhancing your career, or moving up the “corporate ladder.” Sitting back and wishing it to be so will not make it happen. However, not everyone would like to be self-employed, run their own organization, or even become a manager or supervisor. Some are happy to just have employment and go home at the end of the day or feel comfortable with the way that they are. There is really no definite term in which one can measure or define success, as it varies substantially from person to person. To some, monetary value or financial gain is success, to others, emotional stability or making a difference is success, while some believe that achieving goals measures success. Regardless of how you measure success, any success does take time, energy, and dedication. The higher the goals, the harder the work required.
How about creating value for others? At times, I have been criticized for the amount of time I spend working, the overtime, or the weekends teaching classes, but when you have a passion for what you do, and want to drive a business forward, it takes dedication and long hours (work before success). Truthfully, it really does not feel like drudgery or hard work when you work with passionate people, or help others to succeed. I like to focus on the impact I can affect on others as a way of measuring success. Think of the profound effect you can have on your clients, especially at this time of year when so many people are busy or stressed. This is a great way of looking at success.
The good news is- you are the only person that can measure your success. But in order to do so, you must define what success means to you and set your goals to achieve that success. To me, success is a combination of creating value for others, increasing awareness for advanced pedicures, and enough financial gain to continue growing the organization. Well, and maybe to take a nice vacation every year. How do you measure success?
-Vicki Malo