What is success? This is the Big Question. Success comes from the Latin “successus”, which means an outcome. For each of us the answer is different as we all have different outcomes in mind. After all, if I set out to wash and wax the car and do it successfully, I am as successful as the international banker that sits in the first class section on a flight returning from having concluded a multi-billion dollar deal, or am I not, just because of the difference in dollars involved?

Let's talk about success in general. Read this, take it in and remain open to success.

Success is a feeling of pure satisfaction deep inside oneself, a feeling brought on by an achievement that is both honest and challenging. Being successful is when you have accomplished thousands of these successes and are motivated to go for thousands more.

When we talk about success in general, there are two interpretations: success in your eyes and success in the eyes of other people. I could own a business, a big house, a private jet or whatever and be a success in the eyes of other people, but in reality Success to me could mean being happily married to the same woman for the last twenty five years and the rest just happened because I believed that behind every good man is a good woman. One could give loads of examples, but at the end of the day success is deep inside oneself, as there are also examples of people who are very successful in business and yet have no spouse because of a failed marriage, but feels he's successful, based on the standards he set. The moral and even cultural codes need to be understood, but there is always going to be somebody to think or say “You should have done things differently” or “You could have done better.” I would suggest you forget about these people if you feel in your heart you have given your best; if you feel satisfied with your achievement, this is success.

Warning! One of the prices (and also sometimes the prize) of success is the more successful you become, the less comfortable your unsuccessful friends will be with you.

Success is here for everyone - it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from. It is not your background, the way you were reared, your education or any environmental situations that make you a success. It is what you do with what you have that makes you a success. You may have heard the expression “The Black Sheep of the Family.” This guy has the same background, but he doesn’t have the same values or work towards the same goals as the rest of the family.

Success is often wrongly associated with material wealth. This is purely superficial. What good is it if a man gains the world and loses his soul?