Success is a buzzword when it comes to personal and business development. There are hundreds of resources out there with many tips and tricks to achieve success and I am a fan of many of them. I love to study the principles of success, as well as read stories of men, women, and youth who have overcome all sorts of obstacles in order to find success. In all my years researching this topic, I have come to realize that if you want success in any area, your understanding of what success means is a key ingredient in actually achieving it.

I like the way Deepak Chopra defines success. He states that success is “the continued expansion of happiness and the progressive realization of worthy goals.” Society defines success much differently most of the time, as many people define it based on things like social status, material possessions, degrees, financial status, and so on. Granted, those things can be related to success, but they are not necessarily the definition of success.

I like to daydream about success. I like to strive for success in all areas of my life. Deepak mentions ‘the continued expansion of happiness’ as success. I think most of us can agree that external things really don’t bring us lasting happiness. The hot car, the upscale home, and the money in the savings account can make us smile and feel good, but that feeling doesn’t last forever. I remember thinking plenty of times in life, “I’ll be happy when…..” and then that thing comes and two weeks later I’m left thinking, “Now what?” External things bring us temporary happiness, which hey, I love, but I’m after something that lasts for the long haul.

Deepak also mentions ‘the progressive realization of worthy goals’. I’ve become a goal-oriented person over the past few years. I am a firm believer that success in any area in contingent upon setting goals, creating an action plan, and actually taking action to attain them. So in essence, Deepak defines success as being happy and learning to do what makes us happy.

Deepak has come up with the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, which I find quite easy to understand. Many success books focus solely on the external, but Deepak focuses on the internal and internal laws that are important for our success. He focuses on spiritual wisdom from the East as well as healing arts, which is very refreshing after spending many years stuck in traditional Western thought.

Deepak focuses on the spiritual. We are not our bodies, but we are spiritual beings, and our spiritual beings do not crave external things for success and happiness. Our spiritual being craves peace, love, and joy that can only come from a spiritual source. I know of plenty of people who have loads of money, career success, relationship success, material possessions, etc, yet inside they are miserable, lonely, and empty. It’s not that they are not successful, because with our natural eyes they are, but they have been unsuccessful at the inner spiritual journey, focusing primarily on the external.

Let’s not forget that success of any kind is not a destination, but a journey. It’s an ongoing process that requires goals, a plan, and action. Just like a CEO of a company outlines goals and plans to accomplish those goals, a person who wants success spiritually must set goals and an action plan as well.

You want to feel more lasting peace and joy? You want to stop striving for more material things and finances, driving yourself crazy in the process because you can never get enough? If so, set some spiritual goals. Write down your goals, such as:

• I want more inner peace and joy.

• I want to feel more connected to God, Universal Energy, Source, etc.

• I want to make a difference in other people’s lives instead of just focusing on mine.

Then create a plan. What makes you feel more in tune with Love and at peace? What gives you a joy that springs up from way down deep in your spirit? Perhaps it is sitting quietly out in nature or walking through the woods taking in the beauty. Perhaps it is reading inspirational literature, attending a religious venue, meditation, singing, encouraging others, giving to others, etc.

If you want something you don’t have, you’re going to have to do something different. Make some changes. Put forth effort. Believe you can have peace, joy, spirituality, and success in every area of your life. You can!