2 Types of Success
Howdy! Welcome back to the Entheos Initiative. I want to discuss success. There are blanket statements of what success is. Earl Nightingale gave us a great definition of success. He said, “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.” Napoleon Hill defined success as the “attainment of your definite chief aim without violating the rights of others.” However, there are 2 types of success. There is short-term or single success and long-term or overall success.
Most people will only experience one of them. Very few will experience both.
Let’s define what these two successes are.
The 1st type is Short-Term or Single Success. This is the classic definition of success found in the dictionary. It’s the favorable or prosperous completion of attempts or endeavors; the accomplishment of one’s goals.
This is the success that most people, if not everyone, will at some time or another, will experience. We all succeed at something at least once. This can be getting an “A” on a test or winning a race or winning a hand at the poker table or getting an award at work. This is what Snipers are good at. Check out this article about the 3 Types of People. Snipers, they find their target and they hit it. They have a Single Success.
These are all one-off successes. These are all great to experience and these Short-Term, Single Successes need to happen. They keep us motivated. They drive us toward the second type of success.
The 2nd type is Long-Term or Overall Success: This is success in life as a whole. My definition for this type of success is: Deliberately contributing goods and services related to one’s own purpose, that benefits others and society.
This is the type of success that Trackers enjoy. Overall success not only brings prosperity, but true success. Here’s the difference between prosperity and Success.
Prosperity only results in financial and material gain. Success, true Success results in contentment, satisfaction, and prosperity.
There are 4 parts to Overall Success that need to be in place in order to achieve it. Those parts are:
1. Deliberate action,
2. Goods & Services,
3. One’s own purpose and
4. Benefit to others.
Let’s discuss these individually.
Deliberate Action:
Overall Success only comes through deliberate action. You need to act and act on your own volition. The action can’t be forced by someone else. The action must be of your own choosing. You need to do this deliberately and consciously. You choose the action.
Goods & Services:
Goods & Services must be provided to obtain Overall Success. It doesn’t matter the goods or services, but they do need to be provided. Goods and services come in many shapes, sizes and varieties. You get to choose the what and the how of this step, but it needs to happen.
You might be thinking, “I don’t want to start my own business.” Don’t worry, you don’t have to. You can have a job.
The services provided by an Archeologist vs. a Server at a restaurant are completely different, however, one is neither greater than or less than the other, provided that the individual is serving at their best.
The Server at a restaurant is providing people with a great dining experience and bringing joy and good food into the lives of those he serves. The Archeologist, though indirectly, is serving the same people as the Server. They’re uncovering the past so that we can learn about our past and gain a better understanding of the human condition and bettering our futures because of it.
You need to provide goods and services in some way.
One’s Own Purpose:
This is probably the hardest part of Overall Success. Though this is the 3rd component for Overall Success, it’s the one that’s most important. This one step is what brings satisfaction to you as you provide those goods and services you’ve decided to do.
I’ve seen many entrepreneurs that have fulfilled the other 3 steps of this Success and missed this one. They have the financial gains but they’re usually miserable in the process.
This step also dictates what Goods & Services you provide. You want to provide a products and services that you can get behind and actually enjoy providing.
I can’t tell you what your purpose is. That is up to you to decide. Take the time to figure that out. It does need to be yours.
Benefit to others:
The Goods & Services that you provide must benefit other people. You might think this one’s kind of a “no brainer”, but you’d be surprised at how many people produce goods and services that nobody wants. Many small businesses start out this way. They produce something that they think is awesome, but nobody wants it, and then they go out of business.
If people don’t want what you’re offering or it’s not helping them in any way, you won’t be able to experience and enjoy Overall Success.
Overall Success is the type of success that we all want. We want to live the life we want doing the things we love. This can only happen with Overall Success. So, what kind of success do you want?
