"Success"

We have been having a great discussion at our book club on Henry Cloud's "Integrity" - see leadrshipdiscussiongroup.blogspot.com. This discussion has led me more and more to be annoyed when people write books on success without first acknowledging that we must have our own definition of success (or at least defining specifically what the author means by "success"). Even within that, I think success is an internal and individual issue.... success in business, even success as CEO, is going to mean different things for different people so how can we sit back and judge someone else's success when we don't know what their objectives are?

We discussed the disparity between Bill Belicheck and Tony Dungee and thought it would be a great case study to consider what each of them considers success and see how they are doing relative to that. Based on the commonly held understanding of success as NFL coaches, they are both highly successful. I laid out the challenge to each group member to define what success is for them and then do an honest assessment of where their life is heading relative to that definition.... I have done this to some degree, but in light of this new discussion I want to do it more deeply... it will also serve to help us solidify what we are doing in life.

I believe that success is linked to purpose.... that success is a measure to which a person lived out their purpose (which may be a CEO, an NFL coach, a teacher, a housewife, someone who brings smiles to others, a good listener, etc). I recently wrote a comment on a bulletin board for a 29 year old gal I knew that died of cancer. A portion of this read, "... she made the most of the time and energy she was given. Well done!" Was she successful? Not by common definition - but she lived life to the full and left her piece of the world better than when she entered.... I believe she was highly successful.