Money is part of the Equation
Strayer University in Virginia and the market research firm Ipsos conducted a study of 2,000+ Americans that revealed 90% of participants aged 18 and older believe success is more about happiness than power, possessions, or prestige. Within that group:
– 67% associate success with achieving personal goals
– 66% believe success is having good relationships with friends and family
– 60% define success as “loving what you do for a living”
Through a campaign called Readdress Success, Stayer officials are now on a mission to update Merriam-Webster’s definition of the word success as follows:
Success: happiness derived from good relationships and the attainment of personal goals
This would replace Merriam’s current definition, which is:
Success: the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame
Arriving at one’s own definition of success is such a personal thing. Factors that go into calculating success can fluctuate over time based on circumstances and ambitions. Pressure to obtain accomplishment in one area can prove debilitating in another. Time and time again it has been proven that money is not wealth. Only that money can be part of a wealthy life. And as the lives of so many have proved, experiencing failure a time or two can lead to a life well lived.
There are times in our lives when “loving what you do for a living” is not reality, whether temporary or out of long-term necessity. The question is, can we make what ever we do for a living more fun and enjoyable at various times to help balance out the challenges and disinterest we sometimes have to endure? Maximizing good times and minimizing the bad is a good place to start.
Through the years there were times when an associate or myself might be dealing with a transaction that was blowing up right in front of our eyes. The potential for lost earnings that we had not officially earned yet but had worked extremely hard for up to this point, was stressful. At moments like this I would emphatically shout, “You gotta love the business.” Because when the money wasn’t there and you didn’t make the choice to love what you were doing at that precise moment, then sales, work and life seemed far from enjoyable. And from the humor this “gotta love the business” comment generated, we’d usually find the energy and enthusiasm to salvage the deal or go out and start anew. It would prove a choice well made.