What is Success? My Personal Definition
Success means different things to different people. For some, it may be fame and fortune. For others, it's about personal growth and making a difference. As for me, I define success as the ability to live life on your own terms, pursue your passions, and find fulfillment in your contributions to yourself and others.
My definition goes beyond material possessions or status. True success, to me, is about being secure enough financially to not have to worry about money all the time. But it's also about good health, strong relationships, continuous self-improvement, and doing work you find purposeful. Success means you have the freedom and resources to explore your interests. It's having the flexibility to spend more time with family if needed, or to take that trip you've been dreaming about.
Tima Miroshnichenko
A successful person, therefore, is someone who feels they have agency over their life. They make active choices to structure their days around things that matter most to them, not just reacting to whatever comes along. There's a sense of intentionality there. A successful person also continues striving—for better health, deeper connections, more knowledge, greater positive impact, etc. They balance their drive with self-care and time for regeneration.
Ultimately, a successful person aligns their daily actions with their bigger-picture priorities. They know their values and what gives their life meaning, and they organize their schedule accordingly. This leads to an inner peace and general sense of fulfillment regardless of what their bank account says or how famous they are. Success is living both happily and meaningfully through self-leadership.
On my personal journey, I'm striving for this type of success. I want to consistently make decisions that serve my physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being. Simple pleasures like cooking healthy meals, getting lost in a great book, having deep talks with friends or leaving reviews for my favorite small businesses spark joy for me. Somedays just getting good sleep, exercising and doing a little writing constitutes success.
Of course I also want to accomplish certain professional and financial goals. I'd love for my writing to reach a wider audience one day. Maybe I'll even publish some books or create an online course or community to help others. Making a solid living from doing what I love definitely fits into my success vision. But I know that starts small—with the everyday choice to show up and slowly improve my craft. Material measures of success don't drive me; but I welcome them as a natural extension of living with purpose.
The journey is long, so I choose to enjoy the process as much as possible rather than strictly focusing on distant destinations. Each day is a chance to define success for myself anew through aligning my actions with my values. As long as I'm moving forward with integrity and playing full-out, I know real success, a life well-lived will come.