To my
surprise, he had a very different take on the subject. Instead of providing us with
theories, he shared with us his personal story, leaving one question open…what
is success really?
Driving
back home, the question remained in my mind. How do I define success?
I decided to look up ‘success’.
According to the Oxford dictionary, success is the accomplishment of an aim or
purpose, the attainment of fame, wealth, or social status.
In the nineties, this
definition stood firm. You were seen as being successful when you were well up
the corporate ladder, had a broad span of control and a lot of money. However,
somehow, over the past years, this definition seems to have changed.
A lot of people experience
an undercurrent of confusion and unease. Society and business is changing at
the speed of light and burnouts/bore outs are the order of the day.
Consequently, the relative sense of success changed. We are challenged to find
new ways to define ourselves, our purpose and our joy.
Success has become a very personal thing. That doesn’t
make it easier as it involves defining what is really important to you, what
matters to you most and what makes you happy. It might very well be the fast
track in corporate life but it can also be the decision to go travel the world
and finance it through Instagram pictures.
Success has become a choice, a choice to open certain
doors but close others at the same time. For Jamie, success meant that he left
his academic career behind, became a key note speaker and pursued his childhood
dream of cycling.
For me, I’m still searching for the right answer. Don’t
worry, it won’t involve such a drastic decision, I genuinely still love what I
do every day. Nevertheless, I promised myself to keep in mind the sentence that
struck me most: shoot for the moon but make sure that the moon you are shooting
for is your own.
And you … how do you define
success?
For
the ones who are looking for inspiration, you can see Jamie’s story in a TEDx
video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmc6HohWVCs).
And for the ladies, check out Mizbiz (www.mizbiz.be)
as it is a network for female professionals from different industries.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Isabel
Through a personalized and
tailor-made approach, Ingenium Executive Search aspires to assist you in
attracting the right talent that matches the DNA of your company
Check out our website http://www.ingenium-search.be
Follow me on Twitter
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