Dana GattoSuccess: What is it Really?
Growing up and in my 20s and even part of my 30s, I had this belief that there was one definition of success.
For me that definition was you go to college, get married, have kids, then stay home and raise those kids, then get a specific type of job, make a specific amount of money in a specific way….And you better know exactly what those things are…oh and do it perfectly on the first shot.
That there was one formula.
Do what you’ve watched the people around you who you believed were successful do or what they’ve told you to do.
And do what makes OTHER people happiest.
I believed if I wanted to be “successful” I had to agree to this definition and and follow this formula.
Here is where I Insert my infamous line…”HOW ABOUT NO.”
There isn’t only one simple formula for success.
Success has so many different definitions.
And the only definition that actually matters for you and to you is your own.
So long as you know what YOUR definition is, you know how to direct your focus and your life.
Success to me now means that I’m free.
It isn’t as much about specific conditions as it is about specific EMOTIONS.
It’s freedom. Doing what I want, when I want, with who I want and much as I want. It means I’m free to choose how I spend my time, I’m free to determine how I use my skills and abilities, that I’m free to choose how I feel every day, and then there’s the freedom that comes with growing and expanding each day that I gain more clarity and understanding about who I really am, what I really want, and what I am really about.
Oh and according to my definition of success…I get to f-ck up as many times as it takes to get it right.
When you feel free to stumble and to take your time figuring it out…success happens a lot more often and it’s a lot easier to come by. 
