– By Lolu Elegbe
Ask five different people what success means and you’ll very likely get five different answers. The answers will probably range from money, to achievement, to marriage, to family, etc. But no matter how different the definitions are, they’ll usually centre around money and achievement.
But success isn’t (only) about money – or achievement. If it was, there wouldn’t be so many rich people or high achievers going into depression or even committing suicide.
Instead, I believe success is about fulfilment. That may or may not involve money – and it may or may not involve achievement. But it will (or should) always involve fulfilment – so the question is, what is it that gives you fulfilment? Is it money, career, business, family, ministry, all of the above, none of the above? Whatever it is, you get to define it. What is your vision for yourself and how do you fulfil it? Someone said success is coming face to face with your vision. Imagine your vision is stuck to the back of your head – every step you take towards its fulfilment moves it from the back towards the front until you come face to face with it.
You define your success – not those around you, not the society – You! Because only you know what gives you fulfilment. So don’t let anyone use their definition of success to measure where you are and where you should be. Whether it’s money, marriage, family, buying your own house, starting your own business, climbing up the career ladder, etc. the most important thing is what your vision is and how you go about fulfilling it. Of course, listen to advise – it’ll be foolish not to. But have your own vision and goals and be careful not to live another person’s vision of yourself.
A quick point about starting your own business vs climbing the career ladder. There is this pervasive notion that to be successful, you have to be an entrepreneur. In other words, unless you go from being an employee to an employer, you can’t be considered successful or “financially free”. The absurdity of this notion should be obvious. First of all, clearly, not everyone can be an employer – who will you hire to help run and operate the business? Secondly, why exactly is choosing a career over a business, not a measure of success – if that’s what you’ve chosen to do and that’s what gives you fulfilment? Having a vision of rising in your profession or industry is as valid a vision as starting your own business.
I’ve got a cousin who went straight from university to a career in the banking industry. She rose through the ranks to become the CEO of one of the major banks in Nigeria and today she’s the Africa CEO of a Banking Group in South Africa. She built her career in line with her personal vision and today, she’s at the top of that career. And guess what, she’s an employee – even as CEO – and she doesn’t own a business! Talking to her, it’s quite obvious that she’s found fulfilment in what she does – would you say she’s not successful because she didn’t go into entrepreneurship? (I get that not everyone will get to CEO level as an employee. But if you’re clear-eyed on what you want from a career – ask yourself; have you broken that down into goals and actions? Do you have a personal and professional development plan – further studies, training courses? Do you go “above and beyond” your job description, thereby exceeding expectations? Do you actively build a network within your industry? Do you have a work/life balance? etc. These [and many more] are steps that must be taken to make your way up that ladder).
On the flip side, I have another cousin, who runs probably the most successful scents company in Nigeria today – certainly the most dynamic. It’s been amazing and inspiring to watch Adewal Adetona grow his company from scratch to what it is today. Also talking to him or even reading his posts on social media, it’s obvious that he’s found fulfilment in what he does.
So this isn’t to come down on the side of either business or career – employer or employee – it is to highlight the fact that you can find fulfilment – and therefore success – as either one. The real question is – what do you want for yourself?
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