Years ago, I went to an intuitive and she asked me, “What is your idea of happiness.”

I said “Success”.

She almost yelled at me saying, “No, it is peace.”

I thought about that for years and agreed with her.

But eventually, I took it further.

She wasn’t wrong. She just needed to dive deeper.

But she wasn’t a coach, she was an intuitive, so that wasn’t the assignment.

A great question for the time would have been:

When you see, touch, feel, taste success, what is happening in your reality?

Because THAT’S really the assignment.

Examining what success means to you.

Success is an outcome of feeling happy.

And so, what does it mean for you?

20 years ago I never would have guessed that success would mean

… not owning a home

… not calling one location home

… selling everything I own

… not knowing where I will be 2 months from now.

But here we are.

And it looks nothing like I thought.

Certainly nothing how my family characterizes success.

I’m absolutely not where they thought they’d see me.

And yet…

I am the happiest I have ever been.

If you are already there, congratulations! I am SO happy for you.

But if you aren’t, a little advice from someone who’s been there?

Don’t get so attached to an outdated idea of success that really never worked for you anyway, that you are unable to take the chance to inject newness into your experience just because you don’t know anyone who ever did.

Because fitting a round peg in a square hole never worked for anyone.

And yes, a redefined idea of success – different than the one the West thrusts on us – can and will lead you to happiness.

And ultimately, peace, at last.