SUCCESS. What Is It And What Does It Mean To You?

SUCCESS. What Is It And What Does It Mean To You?

The meaning of success is subjective. That which makes one person feel successful may or may not make someone else feel successful. What makes me successful comes directly from my beliefs, my dreams and goals. What makes you successful is directly related to your beliefs, your dreams and your goals. What makes you successful comes from the fulfillment of goals you set for yourself, or the goals you were taught to aspire to accomplish. Success is not an outward accomplishment, but rather an inner one.

On the surface, the millionaire who lives in a mansion and owns every toy imaginable is much more successful than the guy who lives in a 1 bedroom coop and gets from point A to point B on an old rusted bicycle. But when we lift the covers of that public image, the guy who lives in the coop may have everything he needs in order to achieve his happiness, while the millionaire may lack the one ingredient that would make him feel fulfilled. Perhaps the millionaire has spent his life trying to compensate for that missing ingredient with material things. So in reality, which one is the truly successful person.

I remember seeing an interview with the great Bob Marley. The interview went something like this:

Reporter: You made a lot of money out of you're music?

Bob: Money? I mean, how much is a lot of money to you?

Reporter: That's a good question. Have you made, say millions of dollars?

Bob: No.

Reporter: Are you a rich man?

Bob: What you mean rich, what ya mean? 

Reporter: Do you have a lot of possessions? Lot of money in the bank?

Bob: Possession make you rich?

        I don't have that type of richness. 

        My richness is life, forever.

See, Bob Marley didn't have to possess millions of dollars, great big mansions and lots of expensive toys to experience true wealth. He was by far one of the most successful musicians to have ever walked the face of this earth and yet money and possessions meant nothing to him. He experienced a level of success that money can't buy.

Why am I writing about this on our business consulting blog? Shouldn't I be writing about "the bottom line", the profit margin for your company or organization? Why am I not telling you how to become a millionaire? Well, because business is one of those factors that is used by many as a measure of their success. People with large corporate, real estate investment and business portfolios are often viewed by society as huge success stories while people with a small mom & pop shops who barely have enough to pay their bills and eat for another day are seen as unsuccessful at their business ventures. Yet it has been my experience that business success is subjective. 

Did you know that I spent many years as a top producing real estate sales professional? I am still known as NYC's Hometown Realtor #NYCsHometownRealtor. I now manage a team of professionals and coach some of the industry's top professionals across the nation. I share with these professionals that in my years as a top producer, I met people who have lived in small, studio apartment rentals (efficiencies) who were completely satisfied and truly happy in their situation and in life. In those times I also met people who own mansions, have vacation homes, own a huge real estate investment portfolio, furnish & decorate these homes and properties with the best of the best luxuries the world has to offer, and they still live a miserable life. The lesson here is, don't judge people's living situations and their level of success from your perspective, but from theirs. If a studio apartment is too small to make you happy, it may feel like a mansion to someone else.

Today I want to talk about why I, as a successful business consultant and public speaker, will never judge the way anyone chooses to live as long as they are living a righteous life according to The Word of God. I will not judge those who are not causing harm to themselves or others. When I went into real estate, I did because I wanted to be a very successful Realtor. When I entered the business consulting field, I came in with a success mindset and a drive to reach the top. Interesting enough, as time went by and I became a more proficient professional, my idea of success evolved into that of a changed man.

If you would have asked me to define a successful Realtor when I first started in the business, I would have described the Realtor who himself lived in a luxury home or condo, who made the most money in his office, and who sold the biggest and most expensive properties in the industry. I would have probably professed that the most successful agent in my eyes was the one who drove a luxury car, lived in a luxury home, live a luxury lifestyle, hung out with celebrities and had a bank account with many zeros following the first number. Today, my view of a successful agent is much different.

When I first started studying businesses that I deemed successful, I looked for those who owned or led the world's largest and richest corporations. Then I met a CEO of a huge corporation, with tens of thousands of employees under him, millions of dollars worth of profits to manage monthly and more celebrity-signed photos on his wall than Oprah has (she was in one of the pics as well). This CEO was driven to and from the office, was wined and dined by some of the world's richest people and had the President's direct number in his pocket. Yet this apparently successful professional was miserable. This CEO wanted nothing more than to retire from this position and move into the modest 2 bedroom home his grandmother owned at the old country. To everyone else, he was the epitome of success. In his own eyes, he was a miserable failure trapped in a place where he no longer found satisfaction.

I learned as a Realtor® and as a Consultant that my success had a lot more with what I did for my client than how much money I made off the deal. Today my success has a lot more to do with the service I provide than with the money my client pays me. Success has much more to do with my client's appreciation than with my profit margin. See, although I have been in this field for well over a decade, I feel I'm still in the very early stages of my growth and my success. Yet I learned very early in my career that those who chase money as their measure of success usually fail in the business. Meanwhile those professionals who focused on giving more than they take had a much more successful career. 

This matters because when you take care of your clients, and strive to provide the highest level of service possible, you inevitably base your success on helping others meet their definition of success. So whether my national real estate team's clients are hoping to rent a small economy apartment, or my clients want to sell or buy a multi-million dollar investment property, my success relies on my team's ability to meet their needs. And, whether my Consulting client needs us at GC Rosario Group to help them set-up their start-up, or to expand their corporation into new territories during an expansion phase, we will only feel successful if they feel successful. Our success at GC Rosario Group is directly tied to your success.

When I entered the marketplace, I had dreams of becoming a billionaire. Today, more than a decade later, I am focused on creating life changing relationships with my clients, helping them meet their needs with the least amount of stress, and in turn, establish a solid, reputable, respectable and profitable business consultant practice. Today I measure success in the quality of the relationships I build. That is my definition of success in my business. What is yours?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

George L. Rosario is a Brooklyn NY born & raised businessman & entrepreneur turned consultant. He started GC Rosario Group with his lovely wife Claudia. With over 30 years of service to the marketplace in NYC, George has relocated and been graciously adopted by the business community of South Florida. He now travels the country helping businesses and organizations thrive in today’s noisy environment. The post-Covid era forced many to close their doors, but also opened new doors of opportunity, growth and prosperity for innovative thinkers. George & Claudia Rosario help companies, businesses, organizations and teams develop the necessary skillset and plan of action to not just survive, but thrive in this new world. GC Rosario Group helps both secular and Christian based institutions meet their goals.