Everyone who sets out to become self-employed does so with the hope of being successful. But does focusing on attaining “success” lead to dissatisfaction with your journey? Setting out to become self-employed is hard. Being self-employed can be as rewarding as it is daunting, and there are moments when you’ll feel far from “successful.”
It’s been said before, because it’s true, that there is no such thing as overnight success. So knowing that, if we persist until we reach our goals, does that mean that we’ve become a success, does that mean the we’ve “made it”?
And if we’ve “made it?” Then what?
I think goals are vital to staying focused on what you want to achieve in life and in business, but I think success is relative. To me success is more than just running a profitable business, having extraordinary wealth, or being a person of power. Success is more than just achievement.
In today’s video, I answer a reader posed question: “How do you know when you’ve made it?” Watch this short video, and let me know if you agree in the comments section below.
Also, be sure to tell me:
What you think it means to have “made it?” And if you think focusing on “success” is a useful way to frame achievement and fulfillment? I’d love to know what you think! Thanks for watching!
Hey, it’s Marlee from www.marleeward.com, and I am talking to you today about SUCCESS. I got an email from a reader at www.marleeward.com, and he asked me: How do you know when you’ve made it?
I didn’t really have a solid answer for him, because by no measure do I feel like I have attained the level of success that I desire for my life. But I also believe that what you might consider to be successful is going to be relative to what you want for your life. But even more than that, I believe that if you’re truly going to be successful in your life, then you’re probably operating on a sliding scale.
What I mean by that is, you are always striving but you’ve never arrived. And I think that that’s not to say that you’re never content and you’re never satisfied with where you are in your life; in fact, it’s the complete opposite. You should be, and you should give yourself that credit. But I do think that once you decide to rest on your laurels in that you’ve reached the pinnacle of success and there’s nothing else for you to do, then you probably are going to stop growing as a person, and ultimately you’re going to start to be very unhappy.
So, to answer the question directly, when you know that you’ve made it, I don’t think that you ever make it per se. I think that you have goals and milestones in your life and your business that you desire to achieve and you work towards achieving those things, and with every passing day in your journey in life and in your business, you get closer and closer to doing more of that in a way that brings joy to you and gives joy to others.
So, I hope that answers the question. You know who you are, so make sure that you let me know. You can either, leave me a comment, leave me a comment at the end of this video or head over to marleeward.com. I’d love to know what you think about it.
But always keep pressing on toward the thing that you want in your life, and I hope that you never feel like you’ve arrived. Because if that’s the case, then maybe you need to ask yourself whether or not you’re really growing and whether or not you’re pushing yourself to reach your maximum potential, because I believe there’s always further to go.
Thanks so much for watching. I’ll talk to you again really soon.
I think you have to let your idea of “success” adapt and change. What I want for my life now is not the same as what I wanted at 18 or at 10. My values are different and my mindset is different because of life experiences I have had. It isn’t just because I reached a goal, but that my goals changed as I changed.
In this day and age, being successful when self-employed is as much about making a living as it is as making a killing. Breaking even can be considered a success when you start to add up all of the associated costs. Being self-employed is about not having to answer to a boss, but you live and die by your own decisions.
great post, i couldnt leave being self employed having an on-line business for anything now, having the freedom to do what you want when you want without a boss breathing down your neck is the best!!
There are different meaning behind “I’ve made it”. For me i can say ” I’ve made it” when I have first got my own client. I thought before I can’t have my own. haha finally made it!!
Being self employed is the ideal job for someone who has a family. When you get to the mark and see that you are making a living comfortably, not working tirelessly for the paycheck and being able to spend more time doing the things you like, your hobbies and hanging out with your loves ones+families is really when you have made it. It’s a great question that you brought up, I think success is really from within. Our mind can make a heaven from hell, yet a hell from heaven.
Until next time, all the best and adieu!
I think having the freedom to do what you want when you want is success. It’s taken me 10 years in business to get to this point, but WOW it was so worth it.
Hi Marlee, great video! It made me think about “making it” or “having arrived.” Our perspective really makes the difference. It’s been a while, but I’m glad to be back in the blogging game. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
Success to me is about the progressive realization of a worthy goal. Everyday if we are making small improvements towards our goals then we are successful people. Eventually, a day will come when our goals will be reached.
I think that if we have truly enter any business that we are passionate about, they will be no down days. Yes, we might experience days when things do not go our way, but because if our passion we will always figure a way out.
There are many signs of knowing we have “made it”. Satisfaction from serving our clients well. Having enough income for our families. See new innovations for our business. Better networking made. These are just some of it.
Right on Marlee! I don’t think that people should ever strive to “make it” simply because I think that once you feel you’ve arrived, you start failing.
Like you said, I think you should definitely strive to reach certain goals or attain a certain lifestyle but it;s healthy to always have a fight in you and a drive to keep pushing higher adn higher.
Again, this doesn’t mean that you’re never happy with your life. Of course you want to enjoy where you are and what you’ve accomplished but it;s imperative that you don’t get too comfortable with your level of accomplishment and success.
I think that once you become successful though, climbing the next step just gets easier and easier because you start operating from a completely different subconscious program.
Hey Marlee, we must be on the same wavelength this week because I just did a video on how to avoid getting complacent in your business! I think it’s good to celebrate your successes, but like you said, you should then always set a new goal to strive toward.
I agree, I don’t think there’s ever an end, just the journey. There will always be more to learn and new heights you want to conquer … well as long as you want to continue to grow as a human being.
I think you’ve made it when you are content with who you are, where you are and who you are being without judgment, doubts or fears. Yup, tall order.
This is such a great question and a very important one. The problem with “made it” presupposes there’s a point when your work will be done. The other day we announce a major milestone in the journey of building BlogcastFM. Some might say we’ve finally made it. But the thing with getting too comfortable is that it can come back to bite you. If anything you have to keep pushing forward and making progress. It’s about continuous improvement and growth. So I don’t think we can even operate from this notion of “having made it”.
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I think you have to let your idea of “success” adapt and change. What I want for my life now is not the same as what I wanted at 18 or at 10. My values are different and my mindset is different because of life experiences I have had. It isn’t just because I reached a goal, but that my goals changed as I changed.
In this day and age, being successful when self-employed is as much about making a living as it is as making a killing. Breaking even can be considered a success when you start to add up all of the associated costs. Being self-employed is about not having to answer to a boss, but you live and die by your own decisions.
The journey of success is full of challenges. It’s really very daunting at times, but then one needs to have character to let the storm pass away.
great post, i couldnt leave being self employed having an on-line business for anything now, having the freedom to do what you want when you want without a boss breathing down your neck is the best!!
There are different meaning behind “I’ve made it”. For me i can say ” I’ve made it” when I have first got my own client. I thought before I can’t have my own. haha finally made it!!
I’m guessing that you know when you’ve “made it” when you have a nice & decent amount revenue constantly. This amount can vary from people to people.
Being self employed is the ideal job for someone who has a family. When you get to the mark and see that you are making a living comfortably, not working tirelessly for the paycheck and being able to spend more time doing the things you like, your hobbies and hanging out with your loves ones+families is really when you have made it. It’s a great question that you brought up, I think success is really from within. Our mind can make a heaven from hell, yet a hell from heaven.
Until next time, all the best and adieu!
I think having the freedom to do what you want when you want is success. It’s taken me 10 years in business to get to this point, but WOW it was so worth it.
Hi Marlee, great video! It made me think about “making it” or “having arrived.” Our perspective really makes the difference. It’s been a while, but I’m glad to be back in the blogging game. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
It’s a great reminder that nothing is static.
A saying that stuck with me early on is, “We’re climbing or sliding, there’s no in-between.”
Hi Marlee,
I am new to your site.
Success to me is about the progressive realization of a worthy goal. Everyday if we are making small improvements towards our goals then we are successful people. Eventually, a day will come when our goals will be reached.
I think that if we have truly enter any business that we are passionate about, they will be no down days. Yes, we might experience days when things do not go our way, but because if our passion we will always figure a way out.
There are many signs of knowing we have “made it”. Satisfaction from serving our clients well. Having enough income for our families. See new innovations for our business. Better networking made. These are just some of it.
Right on Marlee! I don’t think that people should ever strive to “make it” simply because I think that once you feel you’ve arrived, you start failing.
Like you said, I think you should definitely strive to reach certain goals or attain a certain lifestyle but it;s healthy to always have a fight in you and a drive to keep pushing higher adn higher.
Again, this doesn’t mean that you’re never happy with your life. Of course you want to enjoy where you are and what you’ve accomplished but it;s imperative that you don’t get too comfortable with your level of accomplishment and success.
I think that once you become successful though, climbing the next step just gets easier and easier because you start operating from a completely different subconscious program.
I hope this makes sense!
Hey Marlee, we must be on the same wavelength this week because I just did a video on how to avoid getting complacent in your business! I think it’s good to celebrate your successes, but like you said, you should then always set a new goal to strive toward.
Everyone who sets out to become self-employed does so with the hope of being successful.Its a good point.thank you for sharing.
Hi Marlee,
I agree, I don’t think there’s ever an end, just the journey. There will always be more to learn and new heights you want to conquer … well as long as you want to continue to grow as a human being.
I think you’ve made it when you are content with who you are, where you are and who you are being without judgment, doubts or fears. Yup, tall order.
Marlee,
This is such a great question and a very important one. The problem with “made it” presupposes there’s a point when your work will be done. The other day we announce a major milestone in the journey of building BlogcastFM. Some might say we’ve finally made it. But the thing with getting too comfortable is that it can come back to bite you. If anything you have to keep pushing forward and making progress. It’s about continuous improvement and growth. So I don’t think we can even operate from this notion of “having made it”.
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