Don't aim at success…

Chris’ Preface: I shared this post as an assignment for my free coaching site, youngprofitpros.com. I thought it was such an interesting topic, that I wanted to post a modified version for my blog readers.

I have been reading Viktor Frankl’s, “Man’s Search for Meaning” (Amazon Associate Link) and I have been moved by the descriptions of the Nazi Concentration camps of World War II. There are many life changing passages in the book that touched me, but there is one in particular that gave me thought about how I conduct my life:

“Don’t aim at success–the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long run–in the long run, I say–success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think of it.” – Viktor Frankl, “Man’s Search for Meaning”

This passage was interesting to me, because it takes a contrarian position to the many “gurus” that espouse a philosophy of focusing on a successful end goal. In Frankl’s book, he takes the view that you should not focus on success but instead on doing something greater than yourself. With success being a moving target, you will never get exactly what you have pictured, so focus on a higher purpose and success will manifest in other ways.

This passage has brought me a particular sense of peace the past few days, because I find that my biggest weakness is getting angry when things don’t go according to my plans. I am a highly goal focused person and tend to get very frustrated when things don’t go according to my plans. Thinking about the passage, I have to remember that not everything goes according to plan and as long as I am focusing on the highest good for all, then it doesn’t matter as long as good is being done.

What has changed the most in the past few weeks was how I have been approaching building a business. For the past year I have thought, “If I am making $125,000 a year from this, then I will be set.”

That attitude has gotten me nowhere and needs to change. Instead of thinking about the money that I can make, I have to think about how my knowledge and experiences can help others. What guidance can I give to people to help them move forward with their lives? Though I might benefit greatly in financial ways, there are other benefits that you get along that path.

This does not mean that I am giving up making money and becoming a monk. It just means that I have to approach the method of what I am doing differentially. Instead of pounding people with affiliate links and products, I have to figure out how to get people what they need from me when they need it. I am not giving up on being an affiliate; I just need to make sure that I am helping people when they need help.

Is that possible in this mad, money obsessed culture?

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If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. The Reason for Success
2. Are You Looking at the Giant Leap When You Should Focus on the Little Steps?
3. Success and Dental Floss
4. Limitations? What Limitations?
5. Your Greatest Competitor Should be Yourself