My Success Is Better Than Your Success

I bet you thought I was going to start this blog by stating how I am so successful and how my advice and input can help you be successful. On the contrary, I actually believe that the word success is misconstrued and wanted to share how the pursuit of success can actually lead to failure. But yes here is the catch 22. I am also hoping to provide my take on how I am on the track to be successful.

I used to dislike going to the gym because I thought people were constantly watching and judging me.  I felt like it was supposed to be this big competition of who could lift the most weight or who could run the hardest on the treadmill.  And not to say that I can’t run hard or lift a lot of weight because I can!  But I feel like we often spend our time focusing on comparing ourselves to others and measuring our successes by other people’s standards.

On a daily basis we are flooded by several different sources telling us how we can be successful and achieve our goals. For instance, magazines tell us we can be fit and lose weight in 10 days if we do a certain exercise or buy a particular product. Articles tell us we can be successful in our jobs if we follow these “easy 15 steps” everyday. And there is so much advice out there on how to be the best version of yourself that sometimes you don’t know what option will help you be “successful.” I’m not negating any of this advice, but in the sales world we measure success by numbers, you either hit them or you don’t.  But truthfully there is no one cookie cutter model that guarantees success.

So what is the best way to measure your success?

Reduce it to the ridiculous. First and foremost it is important to have goals, so ask yourself what is my goal? And break it down even more. How am I going to get there? How many deals must I close in a month? What must I do every day to hit my mark? Do I need to make 50 calls a day in order to close 3 deals a month? Or do I need to make 100 calls? In order to gain ground, you have to do a little more everyday and you must track this progress! If you are not logging your efforts, you will basically find yourself lost at sea. Map your success and failures by using KPIs.

It is important to have KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) in place to help you see and evaluate your progress, but it is equally important to have realistic goals. Remember your metrics should align with your goals and be building blocks to help you attain success. We set goals so that we can see progress and results. Your goals should not be deterring factors but rather be pushing you towards a positive outcome.

So next time you go to the gym, make sure not to focus on what everyone else is doing or who may be sneaking a peak at your workout.  Simply focus on your own goals and how to make each workout better than the last.  If last week you did 20 pushups, this week aim to do 30, next week do 40 and keep track. Don’t worry about the guy next to you who may be benching 300 pounds because his success is not your success. Success is winning one small victory at a time. And yes expect that obstacles and failure will be part of this formula. Once you can adapt this mentality, you may find yourself one step closer to being a confident, happy and successful person.

And here is a motivational video on what success means and how you will “truly be successful.”