“Achievement is the knowledge that you have studied and worked hard and have done the best that is in you. Success is being praised by others and that’s nice too, but not as important or satisfying. Always aim for achievement and forget about success.” ~ Helen Hayes
What does achievement and success look like for you? This is one of the most important questions for you to define. Otherwise, you will be living your life based on another’s definition of success. Recently, I had the opportunity to hear Chris Gardner speak about his life story. Chris was a homeless, single father who became a multimillionaire stockbroker. His story has been shared in his bestselling book and movie “The Pursuit of Happyness” starring Will Smith. In his inspirational speech, Chris spoke about “spiritual genetics,” which is the belief that who you are determines your achievements more than circumstances and other people.
No one can control what you believe. You always have a choice about what you believe, what you think about, and what you choose to achieve. What changes the course of our lives is what we believe about ourselves and our values. Here are some steps to invest in who you are, not just what you do, to gain your definition of success.
Define Your Purpose
Gallup is an organization that has done extensive research on how to help organizations succeed through the engagement of the people that they employ. They have shown that to improve performance, we need to focus on purpose. When we help people work within their strengths, who they are, this leads to better performance. Their research has shown the following results:
- 10%-19% increased sales
- 14%-29% increased profit
- 3%-7% higher customer engagement
- 6%-72% lower turnover
- 9%-15% increase in engaged employees
- 22%-59% fewer safety incidents
It is worth the investment to define your purpose and ultimately who you are. As a leader, this is also true about the investment in every person you lead. How are you investing in purpose?
Focus on the Constant
Many things around us change every day. Technology is one example of this. My youngest daughter is eight years older than my nephew. When my daughter was a toddler, I captured segments of her life on a video camera. My brother has captured every moment of his four-year-old son’s life on his iPhone. It can be amazing and overwhelming how change is a part of our daily lives. However, there is a constant in your life and that is your being. You determine your beliefs, and they can be a constant that will guide you in the midst of change. Others cannot force you to change your beliefs nor the spirit that is deep within you. Only you control your beliefs and the pursuit of who you are.
As teams of people, we also face change together. Keeping teams connected together in the midst of change can be a challenge. However, when people are connected at a deeper level of knowing who each other are, there is a bond that transcends change. When people know each other’s purposes and share beliefs, they have a core that is constant beyond the change around us. This is where a team having and holding shared values is a source of strength. How do your beliefs and values form a constant for you in times of change?
Nurture Who You Are
I have a friend who owns horses and had the opportunity to go horseback riding with her. She explained to me that horses are very aware and respond to how you are personally feeling. If you are tense and fearful, the horse will sense this and can even be prone to startle easily. As I rode, I became very aware of my personal state and also my connection with the horse. Through that experience, I realized that I was practicing and nurturing being aware of who I am as a person. As I was more aware of me, I experienced everything around me more deeply, and it nurtured who I am.
How do you nurture who you are? We can often do this through our thoughts, such as thinking about our beliefs and values. But, there is also a deeper intuitive sense of who we are too. Research by the HeartMath Institute has done extensive studies on how connecting at an intuitive level leads to better decision making (Heart Intelligence by Childre, Marin, Rozman, and McCraty). How are you nurturing who you are at a mind and heart level?
Are you investing in who you are, not just what you do? Pursue your purpose, focus on the constant and nurture who you are. Don’t be misled by succeeding in what you do and miss achieving in who you are.