What Is Success?

I often hear from colleagues that this or that person is "successful". When I do, I usually ask them what they mean by "successful". The standard response is they make a lot of money, or amassed a lot of wealth, or even that their company has a lot of revenue or employees. When I ask them how much they work for this "success", the answer includes "all the time", "at least 60 hours/week", and "they rarely take a vacation."

Is this success?

Success isn't measured by money. Rather, it's measured by the amount of time you can afford — for that can never be replaced.

When I started my first company, I grew it to $2M in yearly revenue, winning several awards for this fast-paced growth. Many of my friends and colleagues called me successful. My perspective, however, was different.

• I was one of the lowest paid employees. Every employee thought the exact opposite — that I would be the highest paid. During a Come-To-Jesus meeting in which budgets were being cut, I announced my compensation. Everyone was surprised, and there wasn't any further discussion about the budget cuts.
• I worked 10-12 hours/day, 5-6 days/week. I often journaled that I was very satisfied with life, except that I had to work so many hours. I was already beginning to understand that success was more than affording gadgets; success was about affording time.
• My health deteriorated greatly. I'm still working on resolving the damage I've done to my body by sitting down for hours on end, day after day. Sure I run half-marathons and cycling for hours now, but that that is to compensate for the fact that my job requires me to sit in front of a computer for 6-8 hours daily. The battle continues.

Does this sound like success?

As I continue into my thirties, I'm beginning to understand the vital importance of time and health — two things I took for granted in my twenties. For me, success is far more than how much income I receive or revenue my company earns. Rather, success is how efficiently that money was made — how much time was required to earn it?

What does success look like to you? If it's a dollar figure — how much precious time will you have to invest to make that number a reality?