It is your birthright to be successful. It is also your birthright to define what success actually means to you. But most of us are so busy that we do not take time to sit down and write our own definition of success.

For a long time, I looked at success primarily from a materialistic point of view. My key measure of success was my productivity. Completing all the tasks on my to-do list, getting the next promotion, selling work, having great performance feedbacks, these were all not only my measures of success, but also of most people around me.

Many of my successes brought me a lot of joy, but at a certain point I started to look for a deeper meaning. Suddenly, what others considered my success didn’t feel like success to me. And when I got my most important promotion, it didn’t make me happy. Instead, it became a turning point on my journey of exploring what success means to me.

Today, I look at success much more broadly. I choose what truly matters to me. My definition of success reflects my life purpose, my vision and my core values.

Success is to be authentic and have courage to say what I think.

Success is to be kind and loving to myself, not criticizing and judging myself.

Success is accepting myself as I am right now.

Success is spending time with my parents and my brother’s family.

Success is being in the present moment.

Success is having one evening per week devoted to talking with my husband about our relationship and helping each other grow through accepting our differences.

Success is following my heart.

Success is not about how fast we get through our day, it is about how well we live our day. And how well we live our day defines how well we live our life. The key to real success is to know yourself, your life purpose, have a vision and authentic goals.

As the beginning of 2013 is approaching, it is a great opportunity to think what success means to you. Give yourself a gift and take time to answer following 3 questions:

1) What is success?
2) How can you apply your definition of success to your daily life?
3) How do you know at the end of each day that you were successful or not?

Answering these questions can change your life!