When you started your business, you had the goal of achieving success. Perhaps you wrote that as one of your goals (before you learned how to create SMART goals, that is). You may have gotten into network marketing because you saw the success of other people and wanted to replicate that for yourself. Success is your ultimate goal and you know you want to get there, but how? First, you have to define it.

What is success? 

Success is the good fortune that comes from aspiration, desperation, perspiration, and inspiration.

-Evan Esar

How do you define success? The dictionary defines it as the accomplishment of a goal or purpose. That is only part of the story. For some, it is living in unimaginable wealth, while others feel success is paying the bills in their entirety every month and having some money left over. See the difference? One word means two very different things to two separate people. And, if you asked a third person, it would mean something totally different to them too. It is something personal to everyone. It is based on your hopes and dreams as well as your past experiences. Though aspirational in nature, how you define success can inspire you to do more and keep going every day. 

Success is not a destination, but the road that you’re on. Being successful means that you’re working hard and walking your walk every day. You can only live your dream by working hard towards it. That’s living your dream.

-Marlon Wayans

What does success look like to you?

Before you can achieve it, you have to figure out what it means to you. Although some can define it right away, for others it takes some thought. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What does a successful person look like to you?
• How will you know when you’ve reached it?
• How do you think you’ll get there?

It may help to do a visualization exercise to help to focus and “see” it for yourself. Take a few minutes to imagine yourself as successful. What do you see, hear, and feel? Write it down. This will help you define success for yourself.

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

–Albert Schweitzer

Keep in mind…

Many people feel as if they will be happy once they achieve success. They treat it as something their happiness relies upon. In reality, the two are separate. Sure, you may feel happier when you’ve achieved success; however, you can be happy before that. Similarly, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be happier once you achieve it. For some,  no amount of it is ever enough.

Instead, be happy now. Work at being happy on your journey to success and you may find you’ll enjoy your success – and your journey to success – even more. 

Never continue in a job if you don’t enjoy it. If you’re happy in what you’re doing, you’ll like yourself, you’ll have inner peace. And if you have that, along with physical health, you will have had more success than you could possibly have imagined.

-Johnny Carson

How will you achieve success?

Once you know what it looks like, it is time to create a plan to achieve it. Part of the plan is creating realistic SMART goals that will set you in the right direction. SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant to your business, and time-bound, that is, they have a deadline. They help you get to where you want to be because they help you focus on what you need to accomplish to achieve your ultimate goal. SMART goals aren’t just set once and then you forget about them; once you set them you devise a plan to achieve them within a short, medium, or long-term time frame – or a mix of all three. Your short-term goals can help you achieve your much bigger, longer-term goals. As you achieve them, you get closer to achieving success.

Check in on your success 

Like goals, it’s important to check in with your it. Of course, you’ll check in with your goals regularly, but you should also check with your success as well. How close are you to achieving your ideal of it? What can you do to get you closer? Does your ideal of it still align with your values and your Why? The responses to these questions will help to ensure you’re heading in the right direction.

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

-Henry David Thoreau

Revise if necessary

Over time, your idea of success may evolve. And that’s okay. It should change as you improve your skills and gain more knowledge and experience in the business. Every year or two, you may need to revise your definition of it. Go through the visualization exercise again or write down how you define it at the moment. Then, continue to work toward achieving your goals and reaching it.

Inspire your team to define success for themselves

Your team looks up to you to share your knowledge and experiences and help them stay motivated and inspired. When they see you defining success on your own terms,  they’ll be motivated to do so as well. Additionally, if they are working hard towards their goals and are feeling frustrated by a lack of progress,  they may look to you for inspiration to keep them motivated. Use it as an opportunity to explain that it is different for everyone, and it’s normal to feel frustrated or disappointed when our expectations don’t match reality. If that’s how they feel, encourage them to redefine it instead of giving up. 

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

-Thomas A. Edison

Don’t give up

It is said that many people give up on their goals when they’re very close. However, they don’t realize how close they are so they quit. They don’t realize that they are close to achieving their goals or living up to their definition of success. 

There will be times when it feels easier to give up than to keep pursuing your goals. After all, giving up would be easier.  You wouldn’t have to work as hard, that’s for sure. But if you quit, you wouldn’t have a chance to achieve it or live the life you want to live. At the moment it is hardest to keep going, it is exactly the right time to resist quitting and keep charging ahead.

Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek. 

-Mario Andretti

Stay motivated

Motivation is the driving force behind success. You can’t achieve it without it. However, it’s difficult for many people to maintain motivation, especially over a long period of time. Life happens and it is easier to just give up than keep going. And, if you don’t check in with your goals and definition of it, it is easy to lose sight of your original intentions. If you want to stay motivated you need to check in regularly.

Teamzy can help you achieve your definition of success

We created Teamzy to help network marketers build the foundation of successful businesses using the tools they need to connect with their growing and vibrant networks. In addition to helping them set goals, Teamzy helps network marketers grow and sort their databases,  set SMART goals,  improve their skills, connect with their networks and teams, and so much more.  It’s easier and more fun to reach their goals while building a business they love.  Take your network marketing business to the next level.  Click here to learn more.