How you measure success is critical.
In life, there will only be so many winners, or more appropriately gold medalist, noble prize winners, Oscar winners, Grammy winners, first place holders.
It is never wise to base your success on achieving these positions. If you choose to base your success on being first, Remember that your failure to achieve these positions does not indicate that you are a failure.

Success and achievement have more to do with how you frame your vision

If you frame your vision to look at any place other than first, as winning, then the probability that you will be sorely disappointed in life is almost 100%.

Winning does not have to equal first. Success does not always mean winning. 

Whether you know it or not, you have already been hugely successful in life, but perhaps you can’t see it. Maybe this is due to the yardstick by which you are using to measure your success.

Sucess more aptly means to have achieved.

If you have completed something that you have set out to do, then you have been successful. It does not matter what place you came in or how long it took you to get there. What matters is that you have accomplished what you set out to do.

When you think about how much you have completed or how far you have come from where you were, you will begin to see how successful you have actually been.

The more successful that you perceive yourself to be, the more motivated you are to achieve more and more exceptional. This is the compound effect at work.

It is okay to set your sights high, but you also must be realistic. Your goals have to always be SMART. Specific, Measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

1. You have to be specific concerning what you want. You must have a starting point from which to measure from and an ending point to mark your success. Otherwise, you will never know how far you have come and the distance you have to go.

2. You must have the ability to achieve the goal you set. You must have the skillset, talent, resources, and the opportunity. Or, you must have the means and time to acquire any of those mentioned above.

3. The steps you take must be relevant. If the activities you choose will not contribute to achieving your goal, then you must re-evaluate.

Example: You want to grow prize tomatoes. Engaging in activities that will not contribute to cultivating prize tomatoes is not relevant and potentially serves as a distraction.

4. Setting a time to achieve a goal is what provides the motivation. Being reasonable about the time set is what makes it possible to achieve what you set out.

If you follow that formula, every step you take puts you further down the road from where you started is a success.

It’s not just about reaching the destination; it is also the journey.