The Success Story: Defining Your Life by Your Terms
You know what absolutely blows my mind? Something that I think is so incredibly crazy and baffling? There is no rule book to life. Sure, society will tell us you have to do this, and your friends and family will tell you you have to do that, but in the end, there is no rule book.
Isn’t that an insane thought?! Like, however you choose to do life, is the way you choose to do life. We are all free to define a successful life however we feel.
It’s really interesting, you know. I’m a 16-year-old junior in highschool, so right now my life kind of revolves around school. Keeping my grades up, exploring different colleges, looking at colleges — all that jazz. And today, somebody posed a question to me. They said, “Casey. Do you think you have to go to college to live a successful life?”
I’ve been thinking about this question ever since it was asked because … there is no single answer. The answer to that question is going to be different for each and every person since the definition of success is different for each and every person. For me, myself, do I think you have to go to college to be successful? No, definitely not. My definition of success revolves more around spending time with my family and friends and creating memories and experiences while helping others. By those standards, I don’t have to go to college to be successful.
However, for somebody else, they may need to go to college to live what they view as a successful life. Somebody whose definition of success revolves around becoming a top surgeon is going to have to go to college for sure.
As I continued to ponder this question about success, I also began wondering why society pushes a single definition. Success is subjective. Each person will view it differently. So why does society tell us we’re not successful if we didn’t go to college? Why does society tell us we’re not successful if we aren’t rich and famous? Why does society tell us to measure our success by the amount of money we make?
Society’s dumb in that way. I mean, of course, society’s dumb in a lot of ways, but the idea that the more money you make, the more successful you are is dumb. To me, you could be the CEO of a mega, million-dollar cooperation, and you wouldn’t be as successful as that homeless man in a small community who’s devoted his life to helping others living out on the streets.
As a Christian, I believe that my true treasure is stored up in Heaven, but even for the non-Christians reading this, why have we allowed society to sell us this idea of wealth and fame being equivalent to success?
Take a look at your life. Think about what matters, and I encourage you to write out your definition of success. Write it however you want to — it doesn’t have to be long, it doesn’t have to be fancy; it just has to be authentic. And then, stick to it! If you aren’t actively living out a life that you deem successful, then fix it! Even if you maybe can’t leave your job to pursue your passions (which is a totally other topic, because … chances are that you actually can), but even if you can’t do that, there are things you can do to pursue your vision of success. That’s why I started this blog: to help and inspire somebody else. Even if just one person gets helped by these posts, I will consider them a success.
Pursue your successful life now. Stop allowing barriers to stand in your way. Stop saying “oh, once I get promoted …” or “oh, once I get married …” cause you know what happens? You move on! You’ll start saying, “I’ll start living a successful life when I’m retired …” or “I’ll start living a successful life when my kids move out …” Stop pushing it off. Start now.
To help encourage you, I’m including my personal definition of success. I wrote this out a few years ago, so it may not be the best example in the world, but I hope it helps: (Also, this was initially for a school project so it might be formatted funky. Regardless, it’s still very true to my life)
“Success, to me, is …
I don’t really know where to begin. My definition of success is so big — so expansive — and so … complicated. I think I’ll begin by saying this: for me to achieve ultimate success, I will be lying on my deathbed having lived a happy and fulfilling life. Now, before you just move on to the next person, and say ‘he simply stated a goal, not what success means to him,’ hear me out. Living a ‘happy and fulfilling life’ encompasses so much. For me to achieve success, I need to take risks. Recently, I’ve seen some videos by this group whose whole way of life is based off of two words — seek discomfort. In my definition of success, this motto totally applies. By taking risks — saying ‘yes’ to things that may sound bizarre or weird, I can have a whole slew of new adventures. This kind of brings me into my next piece. According to The Conference Board, 53% of Americans feel unhappy at work. Finding a job that I’m passionate about — a job that I want to come to work every day to, is a huge part of my definition of success. I don’t want to be a part of that 53% statistic. Now, so far, my definition of success has mainly focused on me and my happiness, but now I want to switch over and look at the ‘fulfilling’ part of my definition. Living a successful life, to me, involves helping others, and making an impact. Success is having someone say ‘you’ve changed my life,’ even if it’s just one person. Now, one of the things that you may have noticed is that my definition of success doesn’t involve money or fame. Obviously, these things would be nice, but they aren’t vital for me to feel successful. In fact, last year, when I really began getting into this mindset, I began thinking that if I were to become homeless because I’m doing the things I love, it would be an adventure, full of opportunity, and most definitely not a curse. This mindset has made me much more of a positive person. Since I’ve started exploring this, I don’t take as much for granted anymore. I don’t stress as much over school, grades, or being perfect. Success, to me, is being able to live my life like nobody’s watching, not afraid to be myself, and following my passions. Success, to me, is helping others every chance I get and making an impact, even if it’s just on one person’s life. Success, to me, is lying on my deathbed, having lived a happy and fulfilling life.”
Hi! I’m Casey Keys, a 16-year-old from a crusty, dusty town in Illinois. If you enjoyed this article, you may be interested to know that I pledged to write an article a day, starting on February 7, 2021. You can check out my other articles here on Medium, at https://thecaseykeys.medium.com/
