Take a moment and think or write down 3-5 ideas of how you define success before you continue reading.
Now, look at this pic of me and my Porsche from 2013! (Please keep reading, there is more to the story…)
What do you think of me now? Here I am telling you to look at my Porsche, so I must be successful right? WRONG! I don’t define success with material things, it’s not my style.
My life never goes without a good (and usually weird story), so here it is…
My husband had a summer work trip planned in 2013 to Orlando, Florida. Being a huge Disney fan, I said I would tag along to go to Disney and hang out at the pool. I have no problem traveling alone, especially if I’m not footing the bill.
Then, one night a couple of months before the trip I agreed to be the designated driver for a friend’s birthday. Well, walking out of the bar, I end up tripping on the stairs and breaking my foot…as the designated driver!
I walked on it for a week before I went to the doctor because I was convinced it would heal itself. When the doctor told me it was broken in 2 places I first laughed because I thought he was joking, but he didn’t laugh back. It was official folks, I broke my first bone! I was in a boot and on crutches for 8 weeks…the entire New Jersey summer.
Fast forward to the Orlando trip…after some flight delays we arrive in Orlando at the car rental place at 10 pm and they only have SUVs left. Being 5 foot and with a broken foot, the car dealer offered the Porsche so they weren’t liable for me falling out of their SUV and breaking my other foot! So when you notice one foot is in the car and the lovely handicapped tag in the picture now, you know why. My success that day was successfully gimping around Disney in my boot!
In our society, it’s easy to get trapped into thinking success is about money in the bank, fancy designer socks, and sipping champagne on your yacht. Is that really what life is about? How we should define success?
When I was first looking at other coaching websites for ideas for my own I was appalled to see coaches showing off their cars, boats, and mansions to sell themselves to clients. It threw me and I knew that’s not how I wanted myself or my website to be portrayed.
So in place of stacks of Benjamins, I have rows of succulents all over my website. Succulents are resilient, grow with little care, and can be grown from one of their stems…I’d say that’s pretty successful to get a hundred plants from 1 instead of buying 100 more!
Rethink how you define success. Maybe it’s sleeping in when you have small children. Maybe it’s crushing a presentation at work. Maybe it’s just getting dressed from the waist down these days! Go back to your list now and be real.
Wealthy is more than money. It’s the abundance of time, relationships, and the things you already take for granted.
How do you REALLY define success? Let us know on social!
