Redefining Success

As we all continue to read about “the great resignation” and of “ career pivots” as we adapt to a changing workplace; I take pause to wonder where are we headed?

In my line of work I interview so many people on a daily basis. I am hearing an unusual amount of focus on self-reflection. I believe we are living through the age of “great self-reflection”.

Individuals seem to be redefining what they need from the work they do and the jobs they accept.

As a nation Americans have always had a clear and consistent picture of career paths to success. The definition of the American dream is the success associated with home ownership, shareholder assets, and access to all manner of materialistic fulfillment. Indeed pursuing a good education and perfecting valuable skills to earn the highest income is a worthy mission. Being able to provide for food, clothing and shelter is a must for survival. But during this period of self- reflection I’m hearing the need for something more.

As many have been forced to spend more time alone, working in their sweatpants and watching a fractured world deal with unimaginable challenges, I think the meaning of success has been altered.

I believe the talent pool today is composed of people who are finding success from knowing their own gifts and abilities. This gives them the strength to see the inevitable obstacles as challenges. The tools to true success are having a sense of your own value and pursuing goals with determination, consistency and perseverance.

Determination is defined by sharing your unique abilities and to make a meaningful contribution.

Consistency is taking that determination and supporting the positive practices that advance your goals.

Perseverance is the central feature to success today. It requires the tenacity to navigate a multiplicity of inevitable roadblocks and challenges.

By leaning into your own sense of value, focusing on your goals, creating positive practices that support those goals and cultivating the willingness to persevere, you are focused on  qualities that will inevitably propel you to be truly successful.