Life and Success: What’s It All About?
Wow, doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun? Recently I realised that for over 25 years I have been studying high performance in business and life, asking the age old questions: “What is success?” and “What causes people to achieve mega success in life?”… however one defines success.
During that time, my own opinions of what success is have evolved. Once upon a time I thought success was all about how much money was in the bank, or the level of success one achieved in their career or in entrepreneurship and business.
What about you, how do you define success?
Through the media we celebrate what I call ‘one dimensional success’, where we put people on pedestals when they have plenty of money, business/career/sporting success, and/or celebrity. Sadly, that has a cascading effect into society at large, leaving many people to think they are not successful unless they achieve at that level too. It also has an impact on our children, as in my experience, they are wanting immediate success, often through celebrity. Grrrr.
Throughout my coaching and consulting career, I have coached ‘one dimensional’ mega achievers. Sadly, very often other important elements of their lives are missing in the quest for success as they defined it at the time. Often they sacrificed relationships with family and friends, health and wellbeing…. and more.
As I mentioned, my thinking has totally evolved around what success is. Now, the people whom I respect around the world for being successful have, in my opinion, achieved a more ‘holistic’ success.
Last year I created the Human Heptagram of Hopes™ which links into my Mega Performance Framework and Mega Entrepreneur Programme – the models that I created and use when coaching people for success in business and life.
I truly believe that over a lifetime, we as living, breathing, thinking and feeling souls, are actually seeking success within the seven areas of the Human Heptagram of Hopes™. The seven areas are:
- Wellbeing
- Growth
- Achievement
- Relationships
- Experience
- Spirituality
- Legacy
…and we can break down those seven areas into what I call the 21 Paramount Ps.
Let me briefly explain:
1. Wellbeing
To achieve Wellbeing Success, we seek:
- Physiology – the basics of life in order to function, including: food, water, sustenance, sleep.
- Physique – health and fitness. Good health is different from fitness, and both are important.
- Protection – the comforts of home, including: safety, shelter and warmth.
2. Growth
To achieve Growth Success, we seek:
- Productivity – work that is an expression of ourselves; creating and learning and producing.
- Pain – failures, while difficult, are a tool for learning, development and progression.
- Patience – great things come with time, and we all need to learn that.
3. Achievement
To achieve Achievement Success, we seek:
- Prosperity – financial and business/career success – however we personally define it.
- Prestige – recognition of our achievements and the development of our human ego.
- Persuasion – feeling important and relevant to others.
4. Relationships
To achieve Relationship Success, we seek:
- People – friendships, community, belonging, family, partnerships/collaborations.
- Passion – sex, intimacy, love.
- Promise – a strong values system that supports the foundations of trust, respect, truth, and honesty in our relationships.
5. Experiences
To achieve Experience Success, we seek:
- Play – ‘recreation and reckless abandon’ – to have and experience ‘things’; adventure.
- Pleasure – joy, happiness, time for self.
- Privilege – to feel important and advantaged – however we personally define that.
6. Spirituality
To achieve Spirituality Success, we seek:
- Perspective – to learn and feel comfortable with introspection; developing inner peacefulness.
- Psyche – connecting one’s mind, soul and spirit, and having a strong belief system.
- Purpose – developing understanding and clarity for one’s raison d’étre in life.
7. Legacy
To achieve Legacy Success (regardless of how big or small that is), we seek:
- Potential – recognising our personal potential to be, to give and to do more.
- Possibility – responding to our potential, and achieving more; self-actualisation.
- Plaudits – receiving public acknowledgement for our giving.
I am passionate about this topic of success in life (and business).
What are your thoughts? Have I missed out any Paramount Ps?
This is the topic of the book I am currently writing that is due for release later this year…. to say I am excited about it, is an understatement. 🙂
Here are a couple of ‘celebs’ who have taken my Paramount Ps a little too far… 🙂
Could some guidance from me be helpful to you? If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me. Here’s my calendar to book a meeting. I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.
Other Inspirational Success Stories
Meet George
A Long and Happy Life – the Secrets?
Let’s Change Our World!
‘Luck of the Irish’ – Do You Have Have It?
