How to measure success for you, So you know when you’ve got there..

Success is a very clear focus for all people at some level, especially once they’ve gotten past survival – water, food and shelter.

 

However success is very personal, and relative. In our current hyper connected, always on, media enriched and encroached world success and its measures are almost invisible, and constantly being asked to be upgraded by the marketing media and the rose tinted social media bowl.

 

So, here I want to look at what success can be for you, and more importantly how you can measure it so that you know you’re on track and when you get there.

 

Let’s begin with a metaphor of the journey, or better an adventure.

 

It’s my belief that aiming for success and reaching it is very much a multi-faceted spiral journey and adventure with twists, turns, challenges and surprises, and magical synchronous and serendipitous quantum dots connections.

 

How does that help you?

 

Well it means that sometimes when you think you’re furthest from the success you want you may be closer than you realise. This concept is beautifully described in the book of Acres of Diamonds.

 

It means we can pause for a moment right now and always and allow the “universe” to catch up and our mind to realign our intent, energy, focus and resources. The question is then to focus and align on what?

 

I would suggest on the vision of the future you that is living and experiencing what you call the goal – success.

 

This is where your measures of success come in, and your clarity as to what it looks like, feels like, tastes like, experiences like.

 

Every aspect – as clear as you choose it to be.

 

There were times when success for me was passing my professional exams, I chose that as my focus and 3 years of intense work and study it was achieved.

 

Today I had a small goal and success measure to write this article and have it sent to my friend Will.

 

However what many of us invest our lives searching for is the measures of success that can pervade our lives forever and always.

 

The challenge is that we grow and evolve. Your goals as a new born and what was success then – may in part still remain – however I propose you have many new ideas, insights and measure of success.

 

For me – and I suggest for you – the measures can be split between inner and outer measures.

 

Said another way – there are physical tangible measure and metaphysical intangible measures.

 

Some physical measures may be – a bed to sleep on, access to clean drinking water, access to edible food, access to wifi (the modern western world essential)..

 

Did these seem simple? They are for many people but not yet for all and for me the simple life and the simplification of life is more and more a measure of success for me.

 

Physical measures may also be being able to sleep when you need to and having a restful night’s sleep, being free from pain.

 

Some other people may have more financially motivated physical measures.. A bank account with £1m Gbp as a balance, a garage with three sports cars in mint condition, a speedboat, a working spaceship..

 

What about metaphysical measures … A sense of clarity, wellbeing, being creative and able to speak, write, paint and communicate.

 

What about .. Relationships .. With ourselves, our family, friends, client and partners?

 

For me the metaphysical measures can be more important than the physical.

 

The truth is they all form a holographic and interconnected meta matrix of outcomes that you get to choose as your optimal outcome orientation and hence measure of success.

 

As an extreme example, If you were to have a billion pounds but only be able to live for one more second and to have no workable relationships with others and massively dislike yourself .. I doubt you’d consider that success?

 

So..

 

Exercise..

Create a simple scoreboard of the areas you want to focus on, as measure for success.

 

I group these into domains – areas of life that you get to name and create from nothing.

 

This dashboard you can review, refine and reset as often as you need.

 

It can be a useful tool to use with a mentor, coach, business partner or personal partner to align and explore.

 

Once you have your dashboard and your measures, you can start to score yourself – either 1 to 10, red through green, 0-100%, or as you choose.

 

However it’s important to go from the theory to the grounded numeric score.

 

I won’t go into all the science now but if you wish to learn more look into “utility theory” and “optimisation theory”.

 

I like to create these in excel, numbers or google docs on my laptop. However you may prefer notes on the iPhone, your journal and however you wish.

 

If you’d like to access a template / example .. which we call your Success Template..

 

 

The simple quote is what you focus on grows, and by measuring you can start to focus.

 

The final step once you have your dashboard is to schedule now – yes now – in your diary when you will update and review it.

 

You may find you review it daily, weekly, monthly or annually.

 

Again it’s your life and your dashboard and your measures of success.

 

They are only 86400 seconds each day and we all get be same to invest as we choose.

 

What do you now create and declare success to be for you?

 

What will you achieve?

 

It’s up to you..

 

Share what success looks like to you below, declare it.

 

Let’s learn and grow from reading each other’s stories.