Daylle Deanna Schwartz at Lessons from a Recovering Doormat invited me to participate in the Embracing Success Series she’s running on her blog. Here’s my offering:

What does the word “Success” mean to you?

Up until very recently, most people shared the traditional view of success: working your way to a leadership position within a large company. But the information age brought with it an abundance of choices for working and living. Because of that, the notion of success has changed measurably in recent years.

Many people aren’t even sure what constitutes true success anymore. Is it having that corner office on the top floor, but being miserable in your job every day? Or is it about covertly manipulating the system? Maybe success is doing the best you can to live in mediocrity.

Think of how the following might play into your idea of success:

• Having a job that constantly challenges your intellect versus one that makes you feel capable yet comfortable.
• The amount of time you can devote to being with your family versus advancing your career.
• Whether or not you want to focus your effort on community service or making a difference in some way.
• Appreciation of the arts, travel, adventure, and all of life’s riches.
• Love of home and garden, preparing great meals, making improvements to and decorating your surroundings.
• Managing every aspect of your life on your own, versus outsourcing those tasks you don’t enjoy or don’t have time for.
• Health, exercise, and mind-body balance.
• Hobbies, extra curricular enjoyment, creative pursuits.

Once you assess how each of these factors into the total picture of your life, you can figure out what you need to accomplish in the name of success and happiness.

Try this exercise in how you perceive success and tell me what you come up with:

1. When I imagine successful people who I want to be like, I think of (provide a few brief, descriptive examples):

2. The last time I truly felt successful was (describe in a few sentences):

3. I’ll be successful again when…

4. The barriers that stand between me and success are:

5. Three steps I can take to move closer to my ideal of success include:

Sometimes it takes a bit more introspection to find out exactly where you stand on your own success. Most experts will tell you that success and happiness are close cousins; to have one, you need the other.

A life coach can often be of value when planning your personal model for success. For more information, visit SlowDownFast.com.