What Does "Successful" Mean?by Kori Rodley Irons | More from this Blogger 05 Feb 2007 09:08 AM "Successful" is a very popular qualifier--whether we're talking about families, individuals, or businesses--just by adding the word "successful" it seems to raise things up a few notches in everyone's eyes. But, when running your own home businesses, I think it is important to decide for ourselves what "successful" means, instead of inheriting someone else's definition... So, what does successful mean to you when you think about your home-based micro business (or businesses)? Does it mean making a lot of money? enough money? Or does it have anything to do with money at all? There's no law that says money has to be the main motivator for your home business. Perhaps for you it's about the freedom to build your own business? Do something you love? Run a family enterprise? Be more available for your family? There could be several factors that you are striving for in running a home business, and they could be typical or incredibly personal. I think were we struggle and get into trouble is when we start applying someone else's definition of successful to our own business efforts, or when we feel we have to meet someone else's standards in order to prove whether or not our business enterprise is valuable and successful. Having a strong vision of what we want and what we are working to accomplish can help us keep our priorities and focus straight (and, hopefully, keep us from beating ourselves up when we don't meet someone else's expectations or garner some external validation.) So, take some time to think about what "successful" means to you when it comes to your home business. You may find that you've gotten off track in terms of what you want to accomplish or you may find that, according to your own definition, your business is much more successful than you've been realizing. See Also: Getting Comfortable Talking About Money and Setting and Monitoring Priorities Learn more about Kori Rodley Irons  Bio has been removed by administrator Relevanthome business tags User Comments rents25 (105) 05 Feb 2007 08:51 AMKori... I've tossed the concept of "success" around for years. Here's what I've come up with... Success is defined by your destination. We establish that destination based on our ideas and perceptions of our personal reason for existence. We've all been created with a specific plan in mind...been gifted with specific skills, attributes, personalities that, when orchestrated in perfect harmony, achieve the full purpose for our lives that only we can and have been designed to achieve. (Whew!! What a sentence, eh?). Basically, we've all been created for a specific purpose that only we, personally, can achieve. Success is also a lonely journey as a large majority of us aren't really interested in it. it takes perseverance, joyful suffering, hard work. It's rewards are not instantaneous. Its much like sailing a ship across the ocean. We know where we need to get to, understand how far it is, but have no control over the storms, waves, winds that may blow us off course or slow our progress. However, as a good captain of our ship, we always keep the nose of the vessel pointing towards the destination. With the skill we've developed as a captain (self improvement) and a good crew (proper association), we reach our destination...but not without having to weather storms, slow winds, and dead seas in our life. As a summary, I have a couple of quotes. First, from Coach John Wooden. He was one of the winningest college basketball coaches in the history of the game. He is an excellent teacher in principles of wisdom and life building strategies. In his 90's, he continues to inspire anyone who is around him, write books and enjoy life to the fullest. His definition of success goes something like this... "Don't ever try to be better than someone else. And always, always do your best." I think that's an airtight definition of success. It talks about maximizing your personal potential...no matter what...and that should not be compared to what others are doing. Lastly, one of my favorite authors, Pastor John Piper, speaks about the purpose of man (and woman) as being the glorification of God. I happen to believe I've been created by a master potter. A wonderful god that, for His specific glory, put me together for a specific purpose. With that perspective, meditate on this quote... "God is most glorified in us...when we are most satisfied in Him.". Pretty well sums it up for me. Levi Community Tags finances, success, security Discuss this article
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