Success Is a Process

Success is a difficult thing to quantify. It’s a lot like the present – it’s hard for us to really understand the moment that we’re in when the lines between what’s past and what’s future are so blurred.

So when people ask “How do you become successful? What are the steps I need to take to achieve success?” they’re asking the wrong questions. Their mindset is flawed. They’re trying to follow a roadmap to a singular destination, when success, like the present, is not a concrete moment in time but an ever-evolving process.

Success is fluid. You're never there. You’re never done. You're never perfect. Think of yourself as a gardener. A gardener never finishes a garden. There’s always more to do, new ways to make it more beautiful.

Success, to me, is what happens when you strive to be better every day. The second you stop, you’re no longer successful.

That’s the only thing you need to know about making it in business and in life. Articles like "7 Steps to Being the Boss" and “10 Habits of Successful Marketers” are BS. There is no magic formula. But there are virtues you can adopt that will help guide you. Values you can internalize that will help shape you into someone who has what it takes.

• Humility - Know that you're not perfect. The day you think you're good is the day you aren't.
• Effort – Always strive to be better. Never become complacent.
• Opportunity – Never forget that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity. Always be prepared.

Real success, not the kind they talk about at business seminars and in cheap pamphlets, takes a balance of all of these things. It’s up to you to figure out what that balance is. Along the way, the most important measuring stick you can use is your own moral compass. If you can look in the mirror and be proud of what you’ve accomplished and how hard you’ve worked, you’re likely on the right path.

But you’re not there yet.