Why Do People Still MEASURE Success In Terms Of MONEY?
As I move along my journey and build my business, I continue to wonder why do people still measure success in terms of money?
It is an aspect of being an Online Entrepreneur that makes me shudder and I liken it to walking up to people offline and boldly asking:
So how much money do you make?!
It is a point of attraction and curiosity though because, in the eyes of society, it is the ultimate measure.
Consider Some Other Measures
Thanks to my training and support at Wealthy Affiliate (WA), I have been able to build and diversify my online income, going from 0 to 6-figures in just over a year.
With this revenue foundation, I am now focused on taking my Affiliate earnings to that level over the next 2 years.
In the process, I have realised many other successes that are even more valuable than a 6-figure or 7-figure income.
Here are a few:
1. Acquisition of New Skills
When I started out I was ignorant of all this online business "stuff". That is exactly what I called it - STUFF!
SEO, backlinks, no follow, Affiliate Marketing, blogging, H2 headers, meta tags - they all sounded as though they came from an alien language to me.
To think that in under 2 years, I was able to not just learn about all these terms but also leverage my new skills to sell services to others is beyond me.
I could easily stay on this track and build a million-dollar, international agency helping others to grow their businesses.
2. Stories That Change Lives
I am enjoying being discovered by people all over the world.
You know you are on the right track when you share your content and people reach out to you to say that your article helped them or inspired them to do something they never thought they could.
That happens to so many of us every day here in WA and on our websites through our blog posts.
You are here because you read content from one of our members and became inspired to use this journey to change your life.
Congratulations!
3. Freedom
I made the decision to sidestep from corporate life and the traditional 6 AM to 8 PM grind (sorry, 8 to 4 or 9 to 5 is a myth) because I wanted freedom. REAL freedom!
The freedom to make my own decisions, steer my own life course, work when and how I want to and with whom I want to, support my daughter's learning and development, frame my own vision and achieve my mission.
More importantly, I want the freedom to help others in a life-changing and meaningful way.
I have that! YOU have that!
4. Unconditional Support
I left the best for last.
We all know that WA is not perfect. What environment, community or organisation is?
None!
More than anything though, the greatest value that we have here lies in the support that we get in our community.
You can ask anything here and reach out to anyone. I am quite certain that you will not be disappointed in the response that you receive and, you WILL receive responses
Just ask Hugh, our Curious Guru. Some of his questions throw me off my chair.
Never in a million years would I have ever imagined finding a community like WA and every single day I express my gratitude for finding my way here . . . home.
You all inspire me, motivate me, kick me when I need it and push me harder than I ever thought possible to achieve success and make better of myself.
THAT, my friends, is for me, the ultimate success.
How do you measure success?
Cassi
Recent Comments
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Yes totally agree Cassie. Acquisition of new skills is one success in itself. For me personally, I came to WA affiliate under 12 months ago and what I have learned in that time I consider a success. Still learning of course. Little steps forward are also success. Thanks for sharing another great post Cassie.
The learning and development at WA are phenomenal, Helen.
There is no way that we could ever put a price tag on it all.
Take your time and build at your own pace.
One step at a time.
Thank you for sharing.
Cassi
I've learned to measure success in knowing my purpose while doing what I can to invest or better myself along the way. I figured that if I remained focused on that, and can provide value to others, then the monetary value will eventually come.
Money is definitely important. But what good is it if you're working long hours, almost killing yourself in a job that you can't stand? I believe other areas should be apart of this equation too - like your happiness, health, well-being, and family life.
What good is money if you're broke in these other areas? This is what motivated me when I first started down this path at WA.
Appreciate the post, Cassi
Isaiah 😊
Isiah, this is another blog post right there:
"Money is definitely important. But what good is it if you're working long hours, almost killing yourself in a job that you can't stand? I believe other areas should be a part of this equation too - like your happiness, health, well-being, and family life."
I could not have said it better.
Thank you.
Cassi
We all seem to be hard-wired into thinking that the size of our bank balance is the sole measure of our success - simply because it's identifiable and there in black and white - we all 'know' numbers and can recognize a bigger number apart from a smaller number.
The other measures you mention are less easily quantifiable.
However, I would say that the 4 other measures you mentioned, Cassi, probably affected the money measurement; in other words; if you hadn't acquired new skills, had unconditional support, hadn't changed lives and hadn't had the freedoms then your bank balance may not have been in the same place.
To wrap this up - invest in yourself to help people change their lives to create more freedom for themselves and give them the support they need to achieve that and you'll be rich beyond your wildest dreams.
So very, very well expressed, Dom!
This pretty much sums it up for me:
" - invest in yourself to help people change their lives to create more freedom for themselves and give them the support they need to achieve that and you'll be rich beyond your wildest dreams."
Bang on!
Cassi
I like your success measures for online business.
We are blogger to serve the Google, users and retailers. When we write a good content, Google appreciated us with indexing and ranking; the retailers are happy, we are promoting their product; the users are happy, they know how to pick the right product. Who cares, we have an affiliate link to get a conversion.
Profit is the only measure of success, pointing to boring online shops not bloggers.
Traffic is a good measure of our content quality and quantity. Just my thought.
Stephen, I like that you have a mix of criteria.
Using ONLY money to measure our success is limiting and not sustainable.
Thank you for sharing.
Cassi
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Great post Cassie. Here's my thoughts on the subject.
I think that 99% of people will continue to measure success by the amount of money made UNTIL money isn't an issue any longer. For the person moving forward day to day, step by step, just trying to keep ahead of the bills and worrying about money every day, they will feel successful when the business gives them enough to not worry any longer.
Once money isn't a daily worry, the list of things in your post will become a lot more forefront in their mind.
It it easy to forget what it was like living dollar to dollar when a lot more comes in but I am going to do my best to never forget that feeling so I can empathize with those who haven't 'made it' yet.
Thanks for bringing it up though. It made me think a bit and that's always a goodd thing.
Steve, this resonates for me:
"It is easy to forget what it was like living dollar to dollar when a lot more comes in but I am going to do my best to never forget that feeling so I can empathize with those who haven't 'made it' yet."
We should always remember this.
It keeps us grounded and humble.
I fully agree with your comments.
Thank you for sharing and for your support.
Cassi
I agree Steve, you have accurately made your point I think, this is a valid contribution.
It sure is, Reuben.