When you think of personally successful, what kind of picture comes to mind? Do you see yourself with all the things that accompany wealth like a luxury home and fancy cars? Do you think of the respect and prestige you’ll receive once you finally make your mark on the world? Or perhaps you imagine the sense of pride you’ll experience when your accomplishments are acknowledged by those who doubted you.
Certainly, being successful can bring all of those benefits and more. But as great as those benefits might seem, they cannot come close to matching the greatest benefit of success.
Becoming successful is an inside job
While being successful is often viewed as an outer process of setting and achieving goals that ultimately produce a variety of tangible assets, the greatest benefit of success is what happens to the inner person during the process. When we look at successful people there is a tendency to focus on all of the external trappings, but success is really a journey of inner discovery. It’s a journey that leads to, and grows out of, personal changes that take place on a core level.
Unfortunately, it is all too easy to get so sidetracked by the glitz and grind that we forget to appreciate what’s happening internally. When we constantly dig into our creative, problem solving resources in an effort to move toward and accomplish our goals, it changes us. We grow in many important ways as our view of what is possible continues to expand. And being aware of these changes will add another dimension to the value of success.
How to focus on internal success
If you want to make sure that you enjoy these internal benefits on your journey to success, it’s important to maintain your focus on the following:
1) Continuously expand your vision of what is possible for your life. A successful person knows that they are capable of much more than most people ever thought possible. While they may start with smaller goals to build momentum, they know that those goals will grow in magnitude as they progressively overcome their limitations.
Be sure you are always open to unconventional and creative ways to expand your horizons. If you keep your focus on the point just beyond where you think your capabilities might end, you’ll soon discover ways to go beyond those imaginary boundaries.
2) Stretch your comfort zone at every opportunity. In addition to believing you are capable of more, you should strive to prove it to yourself as often as you can. Don’t just dream big and plan big – act big! Push yourself outside your comfort zone and trust that your inner resources will lead you to new and exciting opportunities.
With every step forward, your confidence will grow and so will your resourcefulness. We all have untapped abilities. The only way to access those abilities is to push ourselves into a place where we actually need those abilities. That place is almost always outside our current comfort zone.
3) Let your success show in the person you become. Rather than trying to impress others with what you can do, have done, or acquired, let your character and demeanor convey your inner success. The outer trappings of success may be impressive, but in reality, people of character care more about who you are as a person than what you have.
The inner journey is what counts
A truly successful person doesn’t need to say a word about their accomplishments because it’s part of who they are. Inner success is always evident in subtle but powerful ways.
The greatest thing about focusing on the inner journey as a successful person is that external success then becomes the natural expression of your internal state. Of course, by then, those external things just seem like a nice bonus compared to the greatest benefit of success – who you’ve become along the way.
Do you relate to being successful as something internal?
How has your journey toward being successful changed you?
The lines are open!
If you enjoyed this article, consider email or RSS updates!
The mission of this site is to provide you with all the right strategies and resources to promote and encourage positive change in your life. All of the articles, 
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Jonathan, I would agree that it’s the journey toward stretching goals that produces some of the greatest character. Because inevitably, when we set worthwhile stretch goals, we encounter “opportunities in disguise” that will test our mettle. I’m definitely grateful for the person I have had to become as a result of the goals I’ve set.
Steve-Personal Success Factors recently posted..SMART Goal Setting- What Everyone Ought To Know About It
Hi Steve, it is the sense of adventure that we all appreciate about any journey, and yet, many feel uneasy living their life that way. The idea that there is security in sameness and insecurity in change can easily get in the way of incredible opportunities.
You said it Jonathan – love stretching the comfort zone for when we do that we get out of our box and that is where the success lies! Fear is what keeps us in the comfort zone and we all know that fear and success are polar opposites.
Thank you for this wonderful post,
Nancy
Nancy Shields recently posted..THE EYES – OUR WINDOWS TO OUR SOUL…
Hi Nancy, too long in the comfort zone and I start to feel boxed in. I love the adventure of new challenges. For some reason I’ve always been wired that way. Passion and excitement also seem to live outside the comfort zone.
I love the point that you made about not needing to flaunt success. True success shines through. It’s a part of who you are, not just what you have or what you do. Great post Jonathan.
Nea | Self Improvement Saga recently posted..Inspirational Thoughts- Miracles Happen
Thanks Nea, the flaunting necessity usually grows out of an effort to prop up a low sense of self-esteem. If we are successful on the inside then that need won’t exist.
Hi Jonathan,
For me the greatest benefit of ‘success’ is knowing that you can do it again. It begins a momentum shift of both your internal dialogue & feelings and externally you exude a confidence that can attract ‘magical serendipities’…..a bit carried away with the woo woo words but I think you get my drift.
Be good to yourself
David
David Stevens recently posted..The Power and the Passion
Hi David, I know exactly what you mean. We actually program ourselves for success which pretty much changes the way we think and act. The beautiful thing is that we can do the internal programming in advance knowing that life will follow suit.
Hi Jonathan!
What a terrrific article. I’ve always believed that we need to define success for ourselves. To me success is definately an internal one. I run my own business. I may not make as much money as the guy down the street, but I have loyal clients who respect me. I want to be rememberd for my character not how much money I’ve made. Thanks so much for your great work Jonathan!
Hi Dandy, in my opinion you are a person who radiates inner success and confidence. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see the external evidence of success expand to match your internal levels. Sometimes the is a lag, but the two usually equal out eventually. Thanks for joining the conversation Dandy.
I used to think that success came from the outside until I looked inside and reached my peak. I agree fully with your view. I am so glad I am on this journey. Love to all
Hi James, most of us are programed to think that success and validation come from external sources. Glad you got past that misconception because many people never do.
Great post. the greatest benefit of success is knowing you got there, but you don’t have to let everyone know. The picture that comes to my mind of a person who is successful, they still act the same and you can tell this by the way they treat others and still have room to learn more. they treat others like they are there servant (not the other way around). A truly success person is a happy person and slow to anger, always willing to help and learn from others, and they don’t have problem helping others learn from them. They are not in this world just for themselves. Anyway that is my story and thank you very much Jonathan for the wonderful post and making me think, love that. Debbie
Hi Debbie, when someone comments that an article “made them think” it just makes my day. Thank you for that. By taking the time to evaluate what we expect from our pursuits (like success) it can really help us make wise choices along the way. Having a more holistic and synergistic view of success helps us maintain a grounded perspective.
Hi Jonathan,
Great article.
Just like both Brian Tracy and Stephen Covey say “First within, then without”.
The inner journey is what creates who we are and, to quote another great thinker, “With our thoughts we make the world.”
Daniel M. Wood recently posted..Music for the Soul
Good morning Jonathan. I believe it’s fair to say the biggest benefit of (Real) success, is Knowing Thy (True) Self. Yes this is a shameless plug for your book. Here’s why. We all know authentic success is becoming all we can become. It’s growing the way we were meant to grow. Truly successful folks know why they’re here and go do exactly that. Despite this common knowledge, only one in many, many, many people know why they’re here. All they can do is what Bernie Siegel advised against. Namely…..climbing the ladder of success, only to find it was leaning against the wrong wall. So? Perhaps your readers could ask themselves this: Do I get up every day, driven by a Force within to do what I was put here to do? If the (honest) answer is “no”, I recommend “True Self”. Knowing Thy True Self is the ONLY way to figure out which wall to lean that ladder against. Ciao Jonathan. John Duffield
John Duffield recently posted..True Self and Passion Myths
Hey John, thanks so much for the support, it means more than you might realize. I was watching a video about a guy whose team searched the globe for communities of people with a high percentage of happy, energetic centenarians (somebody who is a hundred years of age or more). One of the most notable traits of a particular community of extremely long lived and happy people was this: They all new their purpose in life. In fact, they had a word in their language that when translated meant reason to get up in the morning. Also notable, they had no word for retirement. Thanks John!
Morning Jonathan. No question but the word “retirement” is a sad reflection on how badly we misunderstand “purpose”. To get an idea what I mean, let’s ask a fellow life-form when it expects to “retire”. An oak tree for instance. Chances are you’ll hear it whisper something like this: “My purpose on earth is to grow and grow until I blossom….in the direction that makes sense for me. My inner voice will guide me to become a unique mature example of my kind. I’ll “retire” when all growth stops and I die. In reality, retirement and death are one and the same.”
Unfortunately, in today’s world, something is stopping most people from hearing their inner voice. As a result, hardly anyone ever knows the right way to grow their lives. The vast majority stop growing the way they were meant to grow by high-school. Incredible as it may sound then, most of us “retire” (stop growing Our Way) before we hit our twenties. As the wise old oak might say…..”we die a very early waking death”. Ciao Jonathan. John Duffield
John Duffield recently posted..True Self and Passion Myths
Great illustration John, I think of the way a mature oak stands strong against every kind of weather and adversity. It may lose a branch or two along the way, but given a chance it will sprout a new one and keep growing.