Is it Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos whom we believe to be the epitome of success due to their riches or the power they have, or is it something else? 

While the meaning of success remains different for everyone and is constantly changing, we all have something in common; it’s something we all strive for in life. 

For many, it could mean achieving a certain social status, in life or fame, yet for some, it could mean finding happiness and contentment without the materialistic aspects. However, highpoint in everyone’s life, there is no right of way from becoming a billionaire, helping thousands of people, or working a 9 to 5 job; it’s the substance of the term success that has both changed and matters.

 With society’s ever-changing one-sided view, its textbook definition refrains those from exploring outside of its traditional views. Defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, success means having a “favorable or desired outcome” that comes with the “attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence.” However as this stiff and subjective definition attempts to leave space for variations among people, in reality, many are still on the chase to live of fulfillment maybe for the rest of their life to obtain career titles, money, or social status. Yet in many cases, we don’t feel successful when we finally have those things. 

So what is stopping us? Leaving something to be desired, America’s own perception of success remains to be questioned. While only a special 10% of Americans are actually able to reach the standard success rate, reports recently found that there continues to be a disconnect between America’s perception of personal success versus what society sees as a successful life. 

Built on the foundation of the “American Dream” The United States has since evolved into a national ethos that promises that every individual has the opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, motivation, and initiative. With that, a Western traditional definition was formed: modeling after a lifestyle fixated on perfecting a life filled with wealth, position, and power. 

So how about we transform this rigid term into something that caters to love and passion, something you believe would make you feel achieved in life. As many know the classic adage “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” essentially goes the same for success. If you invest all your time focusing on everyone else’s idea of success, you’ll never achieve it and along the way, lose sight of what your dream is.

 Though it may seem like it at times, success isn’t a one-size-fits-all label. In order to truly define success, you have to dig deep, not in what your families, friends, or even renowned entrepreneurs say. Even if you are in a rush to find the right career path make sure to take your time to reflect and plan ahead. 

One of the main reasons people don’t live a successful life is due to the fact that they don’t take the time to know what they truly want. So why live in someone’s version of success while standing in the way of your own. When believing in someone else’s version you’ll always miss the target because what that someone wants to accomplish, isn’t what you truly want. With many of us met with the classic question: “hat do you want to be when you grow up?” But reality can affect how successful we believe we will become or what we want to achieve. 

Like many things in life, success is run by motivation, understanding, and valuing who you are. However, it is a way easier to know your true value when you realize all of the existing strengths, skills, and knowledge you have to go into ideas open-minded. 

 “When I think about high school students what I hope for them is they develop a growth mindset about their ability to seek challenge and to stretch themselves in ways that allow them to develop skills, a sense of who they are, and to begin considering what their passions and next steps out of high school would be,” said Upper School Head Melissa Alkire.

So the next time you say “I want to be successful,” think about what it really means to you and how you want to be challenged. By doing so, create a blueprint for yourself to follow throughout the different chapters of your life and construct your own terms that fit, since that is something that no one can do for you. That could mean having a sense of helping others, giving back to the world, or making a difference by accomplishing a highly competitive career. 

No matter what you decide in the end, being able to do the thing you love already answers the questions of what it is to be successful. That is because a successful life is only measurable when you discover what drives your happiness and helps you find purpose. o be brutally honest, the one-size-fits-all approach that success has molded itself to be is simply unattainable. Similar to keys, each one is specific to each door, so break away from the mold and design your own key to unlock the door to your future.