“Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts" Winston Churchill

For each and single one of us, success has a different meaning. In fact, success can have several different meanings, but one meaning, in particular, is what we consider essential, the one that, if we reach, we consider ourselves fulfilled.

Probably the most widespread meaning of success, the one many of us think about the most, and thus we say about someone that he is "a successful person," it has to do with financial success.

It is  certainly  an  important  criterion  by which success can be defined, but is it the most important?

It would be interesting to know how many of the people the world sees as being fulfilled because of their fortune truly feel fulfilled.

We know for sure that not all of them, because we hear about very rich people who openly confess that they feel unhappy, that their problems are a burden (and when we hear that, don’t we think, "Why wouldn't I have his problems, alongside that kind of money"?), some even do suicide.

For others, success is defined by their career and by their professional achievements. Those achievements are often accompanied by financial success, but for some, this is not an (equally) important component. For those that consider their careers to be the most important aspect of success, to them, it matters what they do for a living, the fact that they have professional satisfaction, and the fact that they are appreciated for what they do in their profession.

Certainly, we all know or heard of people who stay up late at work, neglecting their families and never taking a break, because they have work to do and cannot detach themselves from their everyday work duties.

For others, success is all about notoriety. Sure, this comes hand in hand with the money, but for these people, what matters the most is to be recognized by others. I know people who get ecstatic like children if they are stopped on the street by fans for an autograph, for a selfie or if greeted on the street, people for whom these signs of celebrity and popularity are more important than anything else. I'm not saying that for them, it doesn't matter or they don't care about money, but they prefer notoriety first.

Finally, for others, success is personal - having a great family, friends to meet and go on vacation with, being able to come home worry-free or go out to a restaurant, to a movie, and to be relaxed. Sure, they want to have a certain financial level, but not necessarily above average. These people primarily prefer peace, relaxation and they are not willing to sacrifice themselves in exchange for a greater effort which would bring more money.

It's just like in the story when an American stopped by on a Mexican seaside village.

One morning, he asks a Mexican to take him by boat when he goes fishing.

They go fishing, the Mexican catches some fish, and they return.

When they reached the shore, the American asked him:

„What are you going to do with these fish?”

"I am going take them home to my wife to cook them and eat them today," the Mexican replies.

"Why didn’t you fish more, then?" asks the American.

"Because tomorrow I will go and fish more."

"You only fished for 2-3 hours; what do you do the rest of the time?"

"After I eat, I take a nap and sleep for 2-3 hours," answered the Mexican, "and then, in the evening I will take my wife and go to the bar, where we will meet with our friends, we will drink something, we will eat something, we will talk, we will laugh, we will have a good time, then we will come back home and go to bed.”

"Look," says the American, "I will teach you what to do: instead of just fishing 2 or 3 hours you stay at sea all day, you sell the fish that you don’t need to the nearby stores and earn more money.”

"And what do I do with the money?" the Mexican asks.

"You save money and buy another boat, you hire someone, you fish more, and you earn even more money."

"And what do I do with that money?"

"You buy more boats; you hire more people, you buy some freezers, so you can sell to stores in the surrounding cities, and you will earn even more money.”

"And what do I do with that money?"

"You expand internationally to the United States, and in 30 years, when the business will become big enough, you will list it on the stock exchange, you will sell it, and you will earn $ 100 million."

"And what do I do with that money?"

"With that money you retire and go to a village like this one, where you can buy a boat to go out with it on the sea for pleasure 2-3 hours a day, you fish enough to eat, then take a nap, and in the evening go to the bar, meet friends, eat something, drink something, talk and feel good.”

After all, success should be a mix of all these factors, but it is up to each one of us to determine its proportions.

In any case, I believe that in order to be successful, five ingredients are needed. Possibly more, but I identified these five:

1. Vision

2. Determination

3. Perseverance

4. Balance

5. Gratitude