Not Successful in Business?

I have run a company for 5 years now and I don’t consider my business successful. Indeed it has been a long path of amazing developments, maybe you could even call many of them individual success stories, but overall, I don’t consider myself successful yet.

I want to modestly define success. It sounds silly, but the top thing that I want in terms of success is my ability to provide for my family, and to do so well so that we will have carefree free family time(without stress due to lack of money). I need to take money home from my business to support my family’s expenses. If this is one of my own personal benchmarks for success, I’ve surely not achieved it, but it does stir my mind about how I am trying to move forward so that I can eventually say that I’m truly successful.

I don’t consider myself materialistic per se, but there are materials that I consider pivotal to my success. I have most of the things in life that I need, but I do want tons of gear used in producing media. Whether we’re talking about video cameras, microphones, mixers, musical instruments or computers, I love all of this stuff, and I always feel like having more of it to produce a better product. I’ve always coveted better gear to create more professional and successful media. This drive to want better gear goes right along with the higher level of success that I can achieve having it. I consider myself a person of immense talents, and I imagine that I am not fulfilling my potential when I don’t have the best gear to produce my art and media. So I am not successful in this regard either. I do an amazing job at creating media with the limited tools that I have, but I’m always yearning for that extra professional edge. I don’t have these great tools, and therefore it is hard to consider myself successful.

Some might say that I’ve set the bar for success in business quite high. How do you define success in your life? Is it a specific amount of money you make in a month? Is it doing what makes you happy? Is it a balance between work and family? Are there any special tools you need to fully realize the potential of your talent and become successful? People think success comes easily when they see a successful person. I understand how that feels. From the outside it always seems easy. I have done a splendid job with the presentation of my product and people automatically assume that I’m successful. I have created an image of success, and I believe the ability to do this is part of the equation that I need to eventually become truly successful.

You have to evaluate all of your circumstances in life yourself. My life is not your life, so it’s hard to extrapolate exactly what you should do. Your own situation is special. You must look around and think realistically about what you can do. I just said a vital thing, it’s to be realistic. Too often people suffer from what I’d call American Idol syndrome. This means that there are some who grossly over estimate their own ability with a certain talent or ability. Do you have an accurate estimation of your own personal talent? When I see people believing they are rock stars singing like clowns in front of American Idol judges, this is precisely what I’m talking about. They literally can’t imagine that they’re not as good as they think they are. In my own context, I think recognizing bona fide talent is a skill that makes me a successful content producer. Some people often have inaccurate self perception, and the same probably holds true for someone pursuing a dream of success in business. Could someone greatly overestimate their own ability to succeed in a particular industry or business. I think so, but I don’t think that’s me. You successful people in business, please tell me if you see me as having the American Idol syndrome!

Perhaps you’ve noticed that I approach success in business as a philosophy. I feel that to succeed, I need to obsessively overanalyze and refine my approach to everything, every step of the way. I feel that to really make my business become special and stand out, I need to have a neurotic attitude about it. My personal confidence and the success of my business have become intrinsically tied together. This could be a good or bad thing. I suppose it’s good if I can get my company to the actual state of being that it can be called successful. Peer into your own life and think about how much you identify yourself personally with your business. Be fair about your expectations for success. Take it from me, sometimes practicality is better. Do not fall into the trap of setting your expectations too high before you’re ready.

I hope my own tribulations can serve as an inspirational jumping board for your own life. If somehow something I say unleashes an epiphany for you to achieve success in your own life, that’s amazing. I will always pay my experience forward for free so that you may benefit.

Written by P. Saurini