The True Definition of a Successful Person

If I ask most Americans how they define a successful person, many of them will have similar answers. Most people think that a successful person is a person that goes to college, graduates, attains a corporate job/start their own business, have a family, and eventually retire. That is society’s definition of success and we were taught this at a young age.

Think back to when you were in elementary school before you knew about society’s definition of a successful person. Remember when your teacher asked you what did you want to be when you grow up; how many of you became what you wanted to be when you were younger, and how many of you chose certain careers simply because of how much money you would earn? It is rare to hear people talk about a successful person without mentioning how much money they earn. Nowadays, everything involving success is about making a lot of money and living comfortably, but in the midst of becoming “successful” these successful people have forgotten about the importance of being happy and an overall joyous human being.

I know plenty of “successful people” and they may have a lot of money and materialistic things, but so many of them are miserable, angry, or sad all of the time. They sacrifice so much of their time for money, they purchase all of these expensive things, and they hope to eventually find permanent inner peace and lasting happiness, and they never do. Talk to an elderly person, ask them if they could rewind the hands of time would they live their life differently, and I promise that they would give you a long list of things that they would change.

You don’t have to be one of those people that reflect on the past and wish that they would have spent their life doing what they love to do, instead of doing what made them a lot of money. You could live a simple life, dedicating the majority of your time to doing what you love to do; you can earn income from doing it, granted, it might not be a lot depending on what you choose to do, but if happiness is more important than money this should not bother you.

If you love to paint become a painter, if you love to make music become a musician, if you love to write find the time to write a book. The best way to decide what type of career will bring you happiness is to take a look at your hobbies. Think about what you do in your spare time that makes you happy and temporarily take your mind off of all of your problems; is this something that you can turn into a career? If so, then the next step is to decide how you will transition from a career that doesn’t involve you doing what you love to do to one that does.

Make a plan with minor goals for you to accomplish that will lead you to your overall goal. Research the hobby that you want to turn into a career, and see how other people accomplished this, and find articles that will aid you in devising this plan. There is a vast amount of information on the internet, so this should not be a difficult task. Try cutting back on your spending; think about the things that you buy and really don’t need and invest that money into purchasing what you need to start your new career. Try to accomplish something daily that will contribute to you completely making this transition.

Don’t let naysayers hinder your progress and talk you out of what you are trying to do. They will try to do this, because everyone won’t understand your vision and your goals, but you can’t let them stop you. When you start to have doubts, think about what you are doing, why you are doing it, rework your plan off and on, and never give up.