This is a "Me, Myself & I" question from my family board game, Family Matters. Here's my answer: ----- My definition of success has changed considerably over the years. It's actually become better defined as I expanded it... ----- Early on, success was measured solely in terms of dollars and cents. Narrow-minded, no doubt, but easy to discern provided the success-in-question was worn, i.e., that the person "wore" their worth as was often the case where I grew up: Fairfield County, CT. ----- My parents resided in a modest neighborhood where not much was worn because, frankly, not much was owned. We were well-off compared to national averages but when not when compared to those who lived in the nicer neighborhoods (and there were many). As a result, I mistakingly looked at other people's parents when it came to seeing success and the resulting happiness I mistakingly assumed it brought its bearers. ----- As I entered my 30's and achieved a modicum of financial success myself, I found that success could not be sufficiently defined being pegged to dollars - or any other financial currency for that matter; instead I discovered that success must be derived from a wide range of existential aspects in one's life. ----- I became open to widening the definition because I felt deflated after having hit my "number" (which BTW was so low by conventional standards that I won't even mention it in writing). I asked myself "Is that all there is - a big paycheck?" and realized that the answer was "No, it's not." Success, per se, might well include non-financial measures such as: ---- the extent to which you have a positive sense of purpose from whatever it is you do during the day; having family and friends you can count on and with whom to share your life, day-in and day-out; having enough free-time to pursue your own passions and/or hobbies. ----- Many studies have shown that while money is one of the great sore subjects of our time, having money above/beyond the point of subsistence does NOT actually create more happiness. Many of those without much money are actually happier than those with it. Lottery winners and those who've come into great sums of wealth actually feel less fulfilled than they did before (when they were less "well off"). ----- That success and the happiness it engenders is defined by not one but many metrics makes it not just more attainable by the majority of folks but it also makes it more enjoyable too. After all, sitting atop a pile of money with no one to spend it with, nothing to spend it on and no time to spend it anyway does not sound like my idea of fun. ----- My parents realized and practiced this enlightened form of success from the start. They entered professions (i.e., teaching, social work) that enriched them in primarily non-monetary ways . They didn't look over their shoulders to see what the Jones family was doing (which might explain why we didn't move for so long). They didn't care because they didn't measure their self-worth based on how much they had but how much they offered the world as human beings. ----- This is a lesson they taught me without words and only now do I see how instructive it was. I still find myself looking over my shoulder every now and again but realize it's a very unhelpful habit. Thank you again, mom and dad!