What is Success? From Meaning to Achieving

Success is not just about attaining an abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions. Success is rather a feeling that something worth doing has been done.

It lives somewhere between a goal and a result, between effort and reward. It is one of the most searched, most discussed, and least agreed-upon words in the human language.

Thus, the definition of success varies from person to person. For some, success is a promotion at work. For others, it is raising a healthy child, finishing a college degree, or simply making it through a hard week.

What Does Success Actually Mean?

The word success comes from the Latin successus, meaning “a good result” or “the act of following after.”

In formal terms, it refers to:

“The accomplishment of an aim or purpose. The attainment of a desired outcome through effort, skill, or courage.“

Success synonyms most commonly used alongside success include: achievement, accomplishment, attainment, triumph, victory, fulfilment, prosperity, and advancement.

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Each synonym carries a slightly different weight. Achievement speaks to a task completed. Triumph carries the feeling of overcoming resistance. Prosperity leans toward material and financial gain. Fulfilment points inward — to meaning, not metrics.

Did you know?

Bob Marley, a legendary singer, songwriter, and a guitarist, rejected the concept of material possessions as richness. He rather said, “My richness is life”.

Julie F. Kay, Human Rights Attorney, from the stage of St. John’s University’s RED Talk series, also rejected the common concept of success, according to her, “success is a commitment to justice, a passion for her work, the importance of community, and the pursuit of balance.”

The Common Denominator of Success

Albert E.N. Gray spent years studying successful people across industries and backgrounds. His 1940 essay, The Common Denominator of Success, arrived at a simple conclusion:

The secret of success of every man who has ever been successful lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing things that failures don’t like to do.

This is not about talent or luck. It is about habit — specifically, the habit of acting when acting is uncomfortable.

Successful men are influenced by the desire for pleasing results. Failures are influenced by the desire for pleasing methods and are inclined to be satisfied with such results as can be obtained by doing things they like to do.

But what gives a person the strength to keep going when the work is hard?

Successful men have a purpose strong enough to make them form the habit of doing things they don’t like to do, in order to accomplish the purpose they want to accomplish.

Let’s put it like this, achieving anything you want is the purpose, and purpose is the engine.

Things you do daily to achieve that are the habits, and habit is the vehicle.

Doing what it takes to achieve even when you don’t want to is the discipline, and discipline is the fuel that keeps it running.

Closing Thought

Success is a feeling, a person can feel successful when he is famous and everyone calls his/her name, while another can feel themselves as successful in an unhurried life. However, whatever is your success, you need purpose, habits, and discipline to achieve it.

You don’t have to achieve everything. You have to achieve what matters to you. That is where success begins.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are for motivational and educational purposes only. Success is deeply personal, and the definitions provided here do not constitute professional career, financial, or life counseling.