I spent years thinking I’d never get married or have kids. Now I come home to my best friend and 4 kids yelling ‘Dad!!’ as they run at me. To me, that is success. Here’s why:
Success was always something I had difficulty defining. One individual may measure success by money in the bank. Another may place importance on their professional accolades. And someone else may define it via their material possessions. Each person is optimizing for something different.
Eventually, I found a description of success that resonated and became my personal definition.
WHOOP founder
@willahmed said, “Success is being excited to go to work and being excited to come home.”
What a perfect encapsulation of how I view the world.
In my perspective, success has never been about a number, an award, or any single accomplishment. Frankly, I like to compete too much to ever admit I have ‘made it,’ so my definition of success is naturally more about the process of my life rather than a specific outcome.
A large percentage of people do not enjoy their job. They either dislike their industry, company, or colleagues. They may stay in the situation because the money is attractive or they are scared to leave for the unknown. Regardless of the reason, these individuals are unhappy for a large chunk of their day.
Many people are also dissatisfied with their personal lives. Some are single and frustrated that they haven’t found the right partner, while others are married but unhappy because they feel like strangers in their own home. And plenty of people have health or financial issues that are gnawing at them daily.
Although I have faced similar daily struggles as others, I have always felt fortunate that I enjoyed going to work and coming home each day.
Professionally, I sacrificed my time and short-term potential earnings in order to work on what truly mattered to me. I was able to become my own boss and design a career that was satisfying and exciting.
The excitement in my personal life is entirely because of my wife and my kids. Getting married and having children has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. There is nothing better than walking in the door after a long day of work and hearing the sound of little kids yell “Dad!!” as they run towards me to give me a hug.
@polinapompliano and I are genuinely each other’s best friend. We enjoy spending the majority of our time together and we feed off each other’s energy and ambition. Maybe most importantly, we are happiest when we talk about ideas and help make each other’s dreams come true.
I am just as excited to go to work as I am to come home. I know it is probably rare, but I have achieved all the success I ever wanted.
My hope for you is that you can do the same.
This is an excerpt from my new book, How To Live An Extraordinary Life Volume 2. You can buy a copy of the book here:
amazon.com/How-Live-Extraord…