When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?

Me.

The first person that comes to mind when I think of the word “successful” is me.  Not because I think my accomplishments are any more important than anyone else’s.  Because they’re not.  “Success” is relative and can only be measured with personal goals. So really, I only have my personal aspirations to validate what being “successful” means.

With that being said…

I have friends and family members who have successfully made it through another day sober.

I have the pleasure of knowing a highly accomplished woman who not only works a demanding full-time job, but raises a family, and successfully completes college courses towards a degree.

I have a friend who ran a very successful cleaning business.

My husband successfully completed so many home projects, saving our family loads of cash with his ingenuity, ambition, and drive.

On the flip side, I have acquaintances who successfully hid extramarital affairs from their spouses. A former coworker who successfully groomed underage girls and committed heinous acts of pedophilia before he was caught. I’ve known people who’ve successfully shoplifted.

See? ‘Successful’ can have different connotations, depending on whose success is being measured. It’s relative.