How Do You Define Exraordinary Success?
I continue to evaluate how I can communicate what I do more effectively to help people decide if my work is a good fit for them. One of the fundamental rules of marketing is to describe what you do as a benefit to your market. The other is to focus on a niche.
I did that in my computer business. I became an expert in auto body collision management software industry over my 18 year career (talk about a niche) where I helped small auto body shops save time and money running their business. In that niche I gained skills and experience in sales and marketing, product management and a gazillion other things you learn through business ownership, courting investors and being acquired. What I learned was it was good to niche, but it is better to do what you love with a niche that you are passionate about.
So after leaving a life of focusing on making money for me through saving money for my customers, I went into the world of service and environmental causes. I do know money is important, but I now know you can focus on both: doing things that improve our communities and our planet and being supported financially. But even doing that, it is only truly successful when we include doing what we love.
From this I have gotten even clearer about describing who I work with and what they achieve:
I work with entrepreneurs who want to share their greatest gifts to make the world a better place, and help them achieve extraordinary success while they’re at it.
What is Extraordinary Success?
Definition of Extraordinary (websters)
a : going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary <extraordinary powers>
b : exceptional to a very marked extent <extraordinary beauty>
Both of these definitions apply as I feel that extraordinary success is about stepping into something greater than what is easy and usual. It’s easy to just follow the crowd, get a job, show up and do what you are told. I know when I live in this way I may feel safe or content, but I don’t feel inspired. It is about stepping into the unknown, tapping into the greater power we have within us and to experience the excitement of discovering our greater potential.
Definition of suc·cess (Dictionary.com)
1.the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.
2.the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.
3. a successful performance or achievement: The play was an instant success.
4. a person or thing that is successful: She was a great success on the talk show.
There are many ways to look at success and I believe that our thoughts about success can actually define our experience of it. I know many people who look at those who have attained wealth, position, or honors, with disdain as they judge it as bad for a myriad of reasons. Some people think of those who have achieved success with their book or art as “lucky” and look at them with jealousy. To some people success is a bad thing. And I believe that those who have negative beliefs about success, struggle with their own “success” and maybe happiness.
I think the question about how we feel about success is comes through how we define success. I used to define success through the achievement of my goal of selling my business and making a lot of money. Now I define success much more broadly because for me success is defined as a way of living.
I define success as doing what I want to be doing most of the time, being healthy, having time for myself (God), my family and friends, and working on and completing projects that stretch me both creatively (spiritually), physically, and mentally. I define success as knowing what and who I am and feeling at peace with that. I define success as getting to offer my greatest gifts to lots of people and receiving compensation for the value they receive.
I define extraordinary success as the experience of living in a beautiful place that nurtures my heart, co-creating with the universe, manifesting miracles, having things turn out even better than I ever expected, meeting amazing and inspiring people, serving others, loving everyone, and being present with and in awe of this incredible life.
How do you define extraordinary success?
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