DEFINE YOUR OWN SUCCESS

What does it mean to be successful and prosperous to YOU?

Do you even know? If you don’t spend the time to define what you believe being successful is for you, then others will tell you what it means to be successful, and before you know it, the goals and dreams that you’re reaching for are not even your own.

So HOW do you take a moment to reflect and define what success looks like to you? There is no cookie cutter way, but here are some ideas on how to begin to process these thoughts….

BEGIN WITH THE END GOAL IN MIND

Really evaluate where you are in your life and where you want to be. The key is to make sure that it all aligns with the lifestyle that you want most. What do you want to be free to do, who is a priority and will remain priority? Think about these elements and then create a desired end goal in mind for this season. It’s tough because I would encourage you to dream, but also to really think about THE NEXT BIG GOAL versus something farther out of reach.

Example: When beginning my business, the end goal was for me to be able to become a stay at home mom while running a side business and getting enough money to compensate for the 8-5 job I’d be leaving. A few years later after accomplishing that big [within reach] goal, my next goal was to advance my skill level so that I can begin to book more weddings and make the hours I was investing into the business worth the return. Accomplished that. Over the course of a few years one of my biggest, which seemed crazy back then, dream was to build my business to a point where my husband could finally leave his job-which gave our family a lot of security-to pursue his passion since he’d allowed me to pursue mine for so many years and that our children would see two parents going after their goals/dreams so that they too believed it was possible for them to pursue theirs. That became a reality during the hardest year [covid-2020]. I have new goals, goals in which I’m not ready to discuss.

I share all of this to say…where do you want to go? Is your END GOAL in mind? Have you really evaluated what that is for you and your family?

WORK TOWARDS THE GOAL

Every single day MATTERS. I believe that setting these within reach big goals actually gives us purpose. It allows us to understand that there’s something we are actually aiming to accomplish. The days actually become more intentional. I found myself asking questions such as “is this type of work, what I want to be doing within the next few years?” If the answer was no, I began to get comfortable with saying no to the things that weren’t getting me closer to the goal. I started to define what my business would do and what it would stand for.

UNDERSTAND THE “WHY” COMPONENT

I know you’ve heard this many many times before. But, I hear so many moms say that their kids are their “why.” I don’t believe that’s enough. I believe it has to be broken down a little more and you have to be completely honest with yourself. Why are you doing what you’re doing? Why does it spark interest and joy in your life? Why can you see yourself doing it for years on end? Why do you think it should matter to others? And finally “why is this worth your sweat and tears, why is it worth pursuing?” If you aren’t able to answer that, then that’s a big problem. If you don’t know your WHY’s, you will allow others to define them for you and all of a sudden you’ll be seeking a success that is not yours. Which will leave you dissatisfied.

FRIEND….DEFINE and keep REDEFINING what success means to YOU and don’t allow anyone to influence their version of success upon you…