What is success? Finding the true meaning of success is a conundrum that plagues many people, especially entrepreneurs who have the potential to make limitless income. This also applies to anyone who is trying to make money online or make money from blogging, because while there is a definite floor to their income level (zero dollars), there is virtually no ceiling. Prior to the monthly income reports from John Chow dot Com, most bloggers would not think that it was possible to make over $30,000 a month from a personal blog. Who knows how much more can be made…
Establishing a benchmark for success is no easy feat. I realize that money is a means and not an end, but a dollar figure serves as the single greatest quantitative measure of success.
Holding everything else constant (leisure time, stress level, family life, etc.), I think it’s safe to say that someone making $100,000 a year is more successful than someone who is making $50,000 a year. Someone who has managed to climb the corporate ladder and become a high-ranking executive is more successful than the guy that works in the mailroom. This isn’t always the case, but this is typically how we view individuals in a capitalist society.
That said, it doesn’t matter where you lie along the yardstick, because there will inevitably be people who are making more money than you, just as there will be people who are making less money than you. At what point along this yardstick can say that you are successful? Where can you set the benchmark, the point of reference from which all other points can be compared?
When looking for this benchmark for success, it is inevitable that you will compare yourself to others. Scientific studies have shown that people are incredibly interested in how they rank amongst their peers, much more so than how they rank amongst the general populace. The poorest millionaire is still a millionaire, but he could feel like a relative failure compared to his multi-millionaire friends. The benchmark, in this case, is much higher than it is for regular people. The same can be said about bloggers who strive for a John Chow level of blogging income.
As strange as it may sound, the yardstick is infinite and it is ever-shifting. As you continue to grow your income — whether it be through blogging, freelance writing, or whatever other endeavors you are pursuing — it is very likely that your goals will be re-evaluated as well. The benchmark will continue to shift and it may start to feel like success is constantly just out of reach. Each time you achieve a goal, you will likely set a new one that is even higher. Such is the nature of ambition and greed. This is how we improve and advance as the human race.
Establishing a benchmark for success may be a somewhat painful experience, but it is something that has to be done. If you don’t know where you stand, how can you ever know if you’ve finally achieved success?
Just keep in mind that although the “measures” differ, success and failure are experienced/felt by all: rich or poor.
This is a really interesting topic. My personal benchmark is just that I want to continuously do better than I did in the past. I try not to think of the people around me, since they all started at different points and have different goals.