A$AP Rocky is so cool, he’s my role model. If you think these words have or will ever pass out of my mouth, we probably haven’t met. But let me introduce you to my coworker, who actually made this statement. For the sake of anonymity let’s call my coworker Jim. Jim had recently returned from an A$AP Rocky concert and was starstruck, to say the least.  Being someone who is ethically minded I really can not imagine looking up to someone of such character. So I was curious as to why Jim admired A$AP Rocky so much. Here is what I discovered.

Jim had recently returned from an A$AP Rocky concert and was starstruck, to say the least.  Being someone who is ethically minded I really can not imagine looking up to someone of such character. So I was curious as to why Jim admired A$AP Rocky so much.

Upon questioning it became apparent that Jim had not considered what ‘success’ meant to him. The original draw to A$AP for Jim was his lifestyle and confidence. However, the more we talked I could see Jim begin to quickly realize that being successful was more than just having money. So what does success look like?

First of all, there is no set definition of success. There are certain qualities of success that I would say run across the board like being financially stable, having positive relationships, being in control of yourself, making a positive difference, giving to others. However, how these qualities appear in my life are much different than how they might appear in yours. Being financially stable for me might mean having a tiny house. For you being financially stable might mean getting out of credit card debt. You need to define what success looks like for you. For Jim, these were things he had never thought about before.

If you are not living a ‘successful’ life right now, what would it look like for you? The societal definition of success is often influenced by the environment we are raised in, the people we hang around. Making a ton of money or living an extravagant lifestyle all seem to fit the normal definition of success. Is that how you would define success for yourself? Is making a huge amount of money the end-all for you? If you don’t define what success is, someone will for you. Let’s face it, displaying a Rolls Royce as a statement of a successful life is at its root a marketing strategy. It doesn’t cost $10,000 for a purse but a Birkin is a luxury bag and therefore a sign of success. But let us push back on the definition of success as simply having billions of dollars, and be clear about what we personally consider to be the definition of success in our lives.

So learn from Jim, and think about what success looks like for you. Do not just take the definition of success from your environment. Become the person you want to be.