HOW do the world’s highest achievers define success?
After interviewing 200 people worldwide “who have made a difference in their fields,” three authors conclude that “success in the long run has less to do with finding the best idea or business model than it does with discovering what matters to us as individuals.”
In Rotman, the University of Toronto business school magazine, Jerry Porras, a professor of organizational behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business; and Stewart Emery and Mark Thompson, both management coaches, write that “extraordinary people, teams and organizations are simply ordinary people doing extraordinary things that matter to them.”
The writers, co-authors of the book “Success Built to Last”, point out that the people they interviewed said, “When success just means wealth, fame and power it doesn’t last and it isn’t satisfying.”
Given the title of their book, it isn’t surprising that the authors refer to successful people as “builders.” “We learned,” they wrote, “that builders find lasting success when three essential elements come into alignment in their lives and work.”
The first element is meaning. “What you do must matter deeply to you,” they wrote.
The second is a “highly developed sense of accountability, audacity, passion and responsible optimism.”
And finally, they said, these successful people “find effective ways to take action.”
Photo by mikekorn.
Coop on October 12th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Hi Rich,
Interesting post. I’ve experienced this in that I’ve been a personal trainer for quite some time, but for the past 2 years I’ve become re-energized in the type of training that I now do. It has paid off because my clients can feel my sincerity and new enthusiasm for my profession.
Thanks for this post,
Coop
epilasyon on October 14th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Thank you
Grasp-the-Nettle on October 15th, 2007 at 9:07 am
It is you who defines your own success; the best way to do that is to write down your goals and keep working on them. Focus - and believe.