“You are the only one who knows whether you have won.” John Wooden
The best definition of success I’ve read was written by legendary UCLA men’s college basketball coach John Wooden who knew and achieved extraordinary success on the college basketball hardwood. His definition of success was:
“Success is peace of mind that is the direct result of Self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.”
As you can see from Coach Wooden’s perspective, each person is the only one who can ultimately determine his or her own success.
It’s up to you and every individual to become as good as you can become with your respective gifts and talents you’ve been given and in the environment you find yourself.
The author Napoleon Hill (Think and Grow Rich) dedicated his life and professional and career to understanding the work ethics and ethos of highly successful people like Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.
From his life’s work, Hill determined there were more than a dozen elements of success demonstrated by exceptional business and civic leaders that anyone can embrace and practice. A few of those elements are:
1. They have a definite aim in life.
Hill likens having just a vague aim to succeed to being a ship without a rudder. “Bear in mind that both your definite aim and your plan for attaining it may be modified form time to time… The important thing for you to do now is to learn the significance of working always with a definite aim in view, and always with a definite plan,” Hill writes.
2. They are self-confident.
To be capable of setting ambitious goals, you need to believe you can follow the plans to achieve them. And when you believe in yourself, others tend to believe in you as well.
3. They practice self-control.
Hill says that he did not start to become successful until he learned that he was working against himself whenever he gave into anger or arrogance. “No person ever became a great leader of others until he first learned to lead himself, through self-control,” he writes.
4. They are focused.
Successful people are able to concentrate their energy and skills toward specific goals without becoming distracted by irrelevant issues.
5. They are persistent.
Those who are able to achieve success are not stopped by the inevitable nonstop challenges and setbacks that are in their path to attaining their goals.
6. They are resilient.
“When you begin to realize that failure is a necessary part of one’s education, you will no longer look upon it with fear, and lo! the first thing you know, there will be no more failures!” Hill writes. “No person ever arose from the knockout blow of defeat without being a stronger and wiser human being in one respect or another.”
7. They work hard.
Hill says that this sounds simple enough, but it’s important to remember that even if you achieve your greatest goal, you need to continue pushing yourself or risk losing everything you worked for.
8. They are empathetic.
Hill’s favorite philosophical maxim is The Golden Rule, which states, “Treat others the way you would like to be treated.” He uses it as the final rung of the ladder to true success.
References:
- Wooden, John, and Carty, Jay, “Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success”‘, Revell Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI, 2015, pg. 12.
- https://www.businessinsider.com/the-magic-ladder-to-success-2014-8
Vision Mission Purpose
Wealth is much more than material things and owning assets. It is the presence of having a life filled with happiness in being, doing, and having what you want in life.
