What Is Your Measure of Success?

Integrity matters. Intentions matter. Greater good matters. Humanity matters. Let’s never forget that.

I wrote that on Facebook. It was inspired by another post I saw that described success as the desired means to an end – no matter how you get there. In other words, success is even greater if you arrive through shortcuts, deception, dishonesty, and mistreatment.

How disheartening. And how empty to truly believe that money, rewards, awards, promotions, and all other self-aggrandizing hosannas are just as worthy if you don’t deserve them or didn’t work hard for them.

I know I’m sounding holier than thou. That isn’t my intention. I like money, rewards, awards, promotions, crowns, etc. etc. See that picture above? Those are my awards. They hang in my home. I’ve won a few plaques and trophies through the years. I packed them carefully through a handful of moves. I keep certificates, even seemingly small and insignificant ones.

Look, it’s nice to get recognized. Really nice. Promotions? Hell yeah! Raises? Gimme! But even at my most ambitious, I would say about 20 years ago, I never took the easy route. When I ventured onto the long road of professional reinvention in 2013, I toiled daily honing and fine-tuning my career purpose, revamping the resume, networking (online and in person) and making sure that all stones were turned and polished before I set them back on the ground.

The reason was paramount. The end reward was tantamount. And feeling like I accomplished something with sweat and smarts was and is, well, priceless.

Maybe it’s a generational thing. Maybe my Generation X, 53-year-old, salt-and-pepper-haired, Cuban-American self knows that he long ago graduated from the school of hard work. Maybe he realizes that today’s younger generation – not all, but certainly some – are just fine with reaping the benefits without crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s. We do live in an instant gratification society, and they did grow up with cell phones and computers at the ready. My generation did not, so that could certainly make a huge difference.

We also live in a society that puts dangerous emphasis on celebrity, fame, notoriety and recognizability as barometers of success. Shoot, we have social media now where anybody and everybody can film mini movies of their otherwise mundane lives and watch it go viral for no real reason other than we’re bored and we need a video to entertain us. I’m guilty. I watch them.

I will say that it drives me nuts when people post pics of their meal before they eat it. Um, who cares? Aren’t you hungry? Eat! When I was a music critic, I got so sick of watching people video filming every minute of a concert. Their arms cramped holding the phone for so long, and surely, they weren’t paying close attention. But by God they got it all on video!

Anyway, I digress. Back to the measure of success. I guess it’s subjective and hey, to each his or her own, right? But for me, I want to know I earned something. I want to feel that sense of accomplishment. I want to live the journey, walking one foot in front of the other, and then taste the sweet victory of the finish line.

Success, like so many things in life, is subjective. It may not mean the same thing for any two people. I learned years ago that I couldn’t take for the sake of taking. I couldn’t lose my personal convictions in my quest for a lofty title, a fat paycheck, and a shiny trophy.

Those awards in the picture above hang in my bedroom, inside my closet to be exact. True, most visitors wouldn’t see them. Even if I gave you a tour of the house you wouldn’t see them. That’s by design. I see them every time I open my closet and pull out a shirt or a pair of shoes. I like them there. I worked hard for every single one of them. That is my definition of success.