I recently attended my first women’s professional book club meeting where we talked about Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In. I started this book club through work.
Similar to other women’s books, Lean In, takes a hard look at how women interact in the workplace, and how they should “attack” the issues and challenges in their professional and personal lives to achieve the success they desire. This premise, though thought provoking in itself (and the subject for much debate), raised an entirely different discussion for our group – What does it mean to be successful?
Interestingly, amongst the ten professional women in attendance, we seemingly had ten different answers. For some it was feeling proud of something they did. For others, it was earning a compliment from a peer. It may have been finally earning a promotion or receiving a raise for which they had been working. Still others said it was simply meeting what they defined as the “basic daily needs” of their family and colleagues. It seems that the measure of success depends in part on the manner in which you prioritize the aspects of your life – whether it is family, work, church, or charitable work.
For myself, I believe success is the feeling of fulfillment I get from seeing that those around me have benefited from my actions in some way. Perhaps it was a smile in response to a kind gesture, or a moment of enlightenment when a problem is solved. It might be the fulfillment I experience when I make a particularly good or complex dinner, or the pride I feel when I convince a friend to join the League or another good cause. For me, success is a group affair and when I reflect on my own definition, I am having a very successful life indeed.
So this is where I turn it over to you – how do you define success? What does it mean to you to be successful? How do you define the League’s success?
I look forward to hearing your answers and responses!
