If you believe success is simply making (or having) a lot of money, you may be setting yourself up for failure.

In our industry we meet a huge variety of people with a vast range of wealth and we are often amazed at how many people still define success as making (or having) a lot of money.

It’s very strange, because many of the people who simply strive for more wealth at the expenses of everything else in life are frankly stressed, harried and pretty miserable.

At Lifetime we see that success is a combination of many things in our lives, like being surrounded by great family and friends; working in place where you love to be; pursuing a favorite hobby; feeling like you are contributing in a positive way to people and situations around you and ultimately having the time and energy to enjoy one or all of these things. In short, we believe that true success is when somebody can reach happy fulfillment.

So forget traditional definitions of success. Forget what other people think. Ask yourself if you feel happy – not just at work, not just at home, not just in those fleeting moments when you do something just for yourself, but overall.

If you are, you’re successful. The happier you are the more successful you are.