What is a successful career?

People who hold very high-status titles and all the trappings that come with it yet they are obviously sad, aggrieved, and unfulfilled are everywhere. They are the people who appear to have everything, but are privately miserable; people who get paid more money than most people dare to dream, yet they do little more than complain. People who get paid more money than most people dare to dream, yet they do little more than complain. You are familiar with these individuals. You have heard what they have to say, and you are aware that higher amounts of money, prestige, and luxury goods, as well as the acquisition of further power and attention, have not resulted in increased levels of happiness for them.

Everywhere you go, you'll find individuals who are considered successful but who are really quite unhappy with their lives. You've probably offered assistance and given them advice, and to make matters worse, you've probably listened to them complain over and over again about how nothing good ever happens to them and how life is in some way more cruel to them than it is to anyone else. You've probably also tried to assist and advise them. Perhaps, deep down, you consider yourself to be one of these individuals.

How do you define success in a career?

There is a substantial gap between doing something and being successful. There are a lot of successful individuals. They get qualifications that are sought after, find employment with high profiles, develop professions that are in demand, and earn salaries and incomes that are at the top of their fields. These are a few examples of the criteria that many people in our society use to determine success in a professional career. However, these things—degrees, professional titles, attractive occupations, and excellent pay—represent achievements on the part of the individual. And the issue here is that just having achievements does not always equal to being successful in one's profession.

The achievement of success in one's job requires not only the attainment of a certain degree of financial security while doing something that one takes pleasure in, but also the realization that one is pleased and content with both their lives and their professional decisions. Career success is diminished both if you get paid very well but lack joy or interest in the chosen career field and if you love your job but find that it does not lead to financial self-sufficiency. If you find that your job does not lead to financial self-sufficiency, then career success is diminished. A genuine achievement in one's job is contingent upon their being congruence between the two.

People who have genuine job success are aware that money and titles are not the whole of what it takes to be successful. They are aware that in order for it to really mean to them, they must also feel pleasure and inner peace. You can't call yourself successful if the job you do makes you dissatisfied, unsatisfied, and maybe even miserable, despite the fact that you earn a good salary and have a profession that many others only dare to dream of having. And even if you've found a job that makes you happy, satisfied, and pleased with what you're doing, if you can't pay for the things you need to survive, you probably won't feel like a success. This is true even if you've achieved all of those things.

The catch is that achieving one's goals does not always result in feelings of contentment and joy inside oneself. When you take responsibility for your life and bring your purpose, passion, and ideals into alignment with the actions, behaviors, and job paths you choose, you will experience happiness.

Why such a small percentage of individuals ever achieve their professional goals.

If you don't make a conscious effort to become something, you'll end up becoming anything by accident, and being "anything" almost always results in a significant increase in misery.

Following a career path that is defined, imposed, or driven by other people such as parents, friends, spouses, etc. is one of the many reasons so few people ever actually experience career success. Other reasons include conflating accomplishment with career success, which is one of the reasons so few people ever actually experience career success. One further explanation for why so few individuals truly accomplish what they set out to do in their careers is that they never take the time to determine what it is that they consider to be successful. They don't take the time to consider what it would take for them to live a life filled with pleasure, serenity, and happiness, and they surely don't consider or define what professional success would look like either.

People have a tendency to find themselves in successful careers by accident or by choosing a line of work because they think it will bring them happiness, and then, after experiencing a significant amount of dissatisfaction in that line of work, they spend an excessive amount of time griping about their situation. This is because most people do not take the time to plan out a successful career path. People tend to develop a sense of disillusionment when the location they arrive professionally and/or personally does not deliver them the anticipated combinations of experiences (financial, professional, and personal satisfaction) that they believed they would acquire.

Additional reasons why so few individuals ever achieve success in their careers include the following:

• They are paralyzed by one or more crippling anxieties, and as a result, they avoid taking the kinds of professional risks that may lead to the discovery of new prospects.
• They believe that they are unable to affect the outcomes of their situations, or they believe that they simply do not have any good choices or alternatives available to them since each option entails a sacrifice that they are unwilling to undertake.
• They find themselves unable to go forward in their careers because they are waiting around for others, such as their friends, their boss, or another corporate management, to generate possibilities for them.
• They worry too much about pleasing other people, which leads to them putting off satisfying their own wants until later, at which point they complain about it, often to an excessive degree.
• They lack the drive and perseverance necessary to overcome the difficulties and challenges presented in life and in their careers. They are quick to give up and get unduly deflated when confronted with obstacles and given the task of overcoming such obstacles.
• They make an effort to hide their fears and vulnerabilities by boasting about how much they don't need anybody else, which is the primary reason why they refuse to seek for assistance. As a direct consequence of this, those who would have assisted them in the past are now avoided.
• They see the world through the lens of a victim, which drastically restricts their capacity for achievement. As a consequence of this, they lack the capacity to learn where it is required and, what is even more essential, unlearn where it is necessary.

If you want to be successful in your profession, you should do this.

1. If you want to be successful in your job, you must first determine what success means to you. Only then can you begin to work toward achieving it.
2. You need to be able to resist the temptation of connecting your success in your profession to the praise and approval of other people if you want to have a successful career.
3. If you want to experience the kind of success in your career that is connected to inner peace and happiness, you need to focus on aligning your purpose, passion, and principles with your decisions, behaviors, and career choices. Only then will you be able to enjoy the kind of success in your career that is connected to inner peace and happiness.
4. If you want to be successful in your work, you need to show that you have the mental toughness to be genuinely effective. Also, stop allowing other people to determine whether or not you are significant, worthy, or successful. Take control of these aspects of your life.

One last piece of advice: realize that those who are the most successful are not the ones who have the most money, the biggest offices, or the most popularity. People who have the mental fortitude to lead and who are confident in their ability to make the kinds of choices in their personal lives, in their professional lives, and in their careers that will bring them long-term inner peace and satisfaction are the most successful. You can begin to make a good impact in the world, and you can start enjoying genuine professional success if you accomplish the things that I've listed here.