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Tie in what success means from people I have inteviewed.

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100 Ways To Put Yourself On the Road to Success | Code of Living

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What do you think? Every one of us is an expert at "living." Share your experience and insights in the comments box below! Your comment could help to inspire & change the lives of millions of Code of Living readers around the world!

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How do you know if you're successful? Do you rely heavily on objective metrics such as your job title, the size of your bank account, or the colleges your children are getting into? Or do you focus more on the subjective, such as the satisfaction of solving thorny problems at work, the joy of collaborating with clever colleagues, or how happy you are at home?

You might not even realize where you're placing the most emphasis until you try plotting out your success metrics in a grid like this:

Even if you find yourself listing mostly objective factors, the subjective elements have a way of tugging at you, don't they? The relationship between the objective and the subjective is actually complicated and idiosyncratic. Subjective success is an individual's response to an objective situation. A corporate lawyer may work for a highly respected firm and have a lavish compensation package, but if her career falls short of her dream to become a Supreme Court justice, for instance, or if practicing law seems merely a good way to make a living and doesn't provide an intellectual buzz, she won't feel successful.

In almost 4,000 interviews and more than 80 surveys, senior executives were asked what success means to them in work and in life (see our March HBR article "Manage Your Work, Manage Your Life"). Subjective factors such as making a difference and working with a good team in a good environment came up frequently in leaders' definitions of career success. And rewarding relationships were by far the most common element of personal success. In fact, the executives in our research sample have discovered pretty universally that keeping a high-powered career and a family on track means allocating their energy and time wisely rather than grabbing at every possible brass ring. In other words, if your definition of success is just a laundry list of objective rewards, it may not be all that realistic - or as satisfying as you'd imagine.

As we note in our article, no one would head up a major business initiative without establishing clear metrics for success, based on a strong vision of what a "win" will look like. The same principle should apply to managing your life and career. Life is too short to spend valuable energy chasing after objective success measures that don't affect your subjective bottom line. Just as you'd do on the job, make your professional and personal "wins" clear, meaningful, and achievable to ensure the maximum emotional return on your investment of effort.

Here's one final question we'd like you to think about: Have you ever had a "win" that should have been meaningful but left you feeling dissatisfied and empty? If so, share your story in the comments below. In a future post, we'll examine the reasons that an objective accomplishment can fail to translate into subjective satisfaction.

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How do you know if you're successful? Do you rely heavily on objective metrics such as your job title, the size of your bank account, or the colleges your children are getting into? Or do you focus more on the subjective, such as the satisfaction of solving thorny problems at work, the joy of collaborating with clever colleagues, or how happy you are at home?

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How Do You Define Success?

I approached a number of "successful" people. Most of them are CEOs or run organizations that they started. What are their definitions of success?

As 2014 comes to a close and we prepare to turn the page on the calendar, it's inevitable that you'll think about success. Was it a successful year? Do you feel as though you accomplished what you wanted? Where did you fall short? And perhaps most importantly, how can you make 2015 even more successful?

Some of those answers, of course, depend on how you define success. Like many, I grew up equating money and power with success, and for a time, that framed my definition. But as I've matured, that has changed. You see, success is a very personal thing. What drives one entrepreneur may be radically different for another. And understanding how others measure success can help you better understand your own definition.

For me, it's "Success is spending the majority of my time focused on work or tasks that are fulfilling, leveraging my Zone of Genius, maximizing my potential and helping other people in a meaningful way while providing the freedom, lifestyle and experiences that I desire"

As we bid farewell to another year, I've been pondering these questions too. So I approached a number of "successful" people. Most of them are CEOs or run organizations that they started. (I even included my parents!) By most people's standards, they are successful. What, then, are their definitions of success? I hope these responses inspire you to think about your own version of success. The one constant I found? We all long for daily joy and fulfillment in our work and beyond.

-- Ron Cordes, founder of the Cordes Foundation

"Success is not having to describe what's been accomplished....others do it for you"

-- Deborah Hopkins, Chief Innovation Officer of Citibank

-- Raj Sisodia, co-founder of Conscious Capitalism and professor at Babson College

-- David Kidder, CEO of Bionic

-- Jeremy Young CEO of Tanga

-- Kara Goldin, CEO of Hint Water

-- Dan Kurzius, co-founder and COO of Mailchimp

-- Seth Besmertnik, CEO of Conductor

-- Marcia Becker, PhD, senior director of Adult Rehabilitative and Rural Services (my mom)

-- E.N Garnett Jr., Certified Crop Advisor, Southern States (my dad)

As 2014 comes to a close and we prepare to turn the page on the calendar, it's inevitable that you'll think about success. Was it a successful year? Do you feel as though you accomplished what you wanted? Where did you fall short? And perhaps most importantly, how can you make 2015 even more successful?

Some of those answers, of course, depend on how you define success. Like many, I grew up equating money and power with success, and for a time, that framed my definition. But as I've matured, that has changed. You see, success is a very personal thing. What drives one entrepreneur may be radically different for another. And understanding how others measure success can help you better understand your own definition.

For me, it's "Success is spending the majority of my time focused on work or tasks that are fulfilling, leveraging my Zone of Genius, maximizing my potential and helping other people in a meaningful way while providing the freedom, lifestyle and experiences that I desire"

As we bid farewell to another year, I've been pondering these questions too. So I approached a number of "successful" people. Most of them are CEOs or run organizations that they started. (I even included my parents!) By most people's standards, they are successful. What, then, are their definitions of success? I hope these responses inspire you to think about your own version of success. The one constant I found? We all long for daily joy and fulfillment in our work and beyond.

-- Ron Cordes, founder of the Cordes Foundation

"Success is not having to describe what's been accomplished....others do it for you"

-- Deborah Hopkins, Chief Innovation Officer of Citibank

-- Raj Sisodia, co-founder of Conscious Capitalism and professor at Babson College

-- David Kidder, CEO of Bionic

-- Jeremy Young CEO of Tanga

-- Kara Goldin, CEO of Hint Water

-- Dan Kurzius, co-founder and COO of Mailchimp

-- Seth Besmertnik, CEO of Conductor

-- Marcia Becker, PhD, senior director of Adult Rehabilitative and Rural Services (my mom)

-- E.N Garnett Jr., Certified Crop Advisor, Southern States (my dad)

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As 2014 comes to a close and we prepare to turn the page on the calendar, it's inevitable that you'll think about success. Was it a successful year? Do you feel as though you accomplished what you wanted? Where did you fall short? And perhaps most importantly, how can you make 2015 even more successful?

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Our society describes success in several ways. Some define it as fame, money, and accolades attached their name. But, what really is success? how can one achieve it. Does success bring fulfillment? Success is feeling content with the life you have built for yourself. You have no regrets and are confident with you are. We can reach success from not comparing ourselves to others.