What success is NOT

By Joseph Wachira Kimani,

Imna and Jimnah Insurance Agency

Visualize the most successful people whom you know. How would you describe them? If you are like most, it might sound something like this: They have it all, power, influence, recognition, great homes, nice cars, money. They take awesome vacations and their kids go to the best schools. People listen to them, maybe even slightly fear them. They hang out with other beautiful and influential people. Everyone wants to get close to them. Life is good! Sadly, we are confused! None of these things are indicative of true success. You can have them all, and still not be successful. You can have none of them, and be wildly successful! So, what is your definition of success? We all want success. We want to be successful and feel successful. We chase money, fame, power, women, education, relationships and a thousand other things without ever stopping to ask one essential question: What, actually, is success? To know what success is, it’s important to know what success is not!

• Success is not a place or destination but a way of thinking, feeling and subsequently acting as you embark on this exciting journey called life with the deliberate, conscious intent of turning a successful future into your reality.
• Success is not how you look! We live in a society that is image conscious and we are judged based on how we look. Have you been in a place where you needed help but your “looks” ensured you did not get the help? How can he ask for help and he lives in that side of town? Do you see the car he drives? His dressing? It gets worse that the logo on your clothes determine whether you are a success or not, and because of image and style, we prefer to buy the one with the logo; most expensive of course. It has always been a wonder why we use too much money to impress people who may not necessarily like you and don’t even “see” the effort you put to impress. The people we try to impress do not care much about you! Style and swag does not necessarily mean you are successful. There people who have style but they are very broke.
• Success is not measured by what you have. You can be wealthy but not successful. The fact that you have money and property does not mean you are successful. There people who are lucky to have been born in affluence.  Your net worth is not the same thing as your self-worth.
• Success is not measured by who you know. There people who are masters in name dropping. True success is not fame. Success has to do with who you are.
• Success is not bequeathed. Success is not awarded. Success entails having a vision. You need to be able to see the future state and take the needed action now to get there. These are the core values that will guide you into the desired future.

If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much - Jim Rohn. If we don’t answer the question of what success is not, we can end up climbing the wrong ladder and pursue someone else’s version of success. We get to the top only to discover we climbed the wrong mountain; achieving goals only to realize they were the wrong ones. It’s a disaster few people are able to recover from. Success is not easy. Success is not certain. Success is not a straight line and definitely success is not someone else’s definition of success. Define your own path and pursue it passionately.