Turns out I'm actually good at math.

/ Bay City Coffee/

To me, being successful means...
Doing something that is just the right amount of challenging, fulfilling and fun which also helps make the world a better place. If you're going for power, first ask yourself why you want it.

My definition of success has changed over time. 
I don't think I started off my education with an idea of success at all. Certainly in college it was more about getting good grades and advancing with little thought to the value of what I was doing. 

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All of life is an experiment...

/

To me, being successful means...
Wanting to get up and out of bed everyday. At the end of the day feeling like I did even a little thing that will last into the future.

My definition of success has changed over time. 
I used to think that I would want to retire super early or be a stay at home mom. Then I took a couple years off and found that I really need to work. I am happier with feeling like I do something productive everyday and the structure of a job helps me do that.

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Nothing worth having is easy

/

To me, being successful means...
Being able to come home to my wife and kids and give them all hugs at the end of the long work day. Material items don't carry the same meaning as they used to and being able to provide for my family and see smiles on their faces means I'm doing what I was meant to. That's success.

My definition of success has changed over time. 
Success as a youngster is almost always tied to finances. In order to achieve those financial successes, you needed to get a 4.0, go to Stanford, become a VC, or a doctor or a lawyer and so on. As you grow in your career, you realize that success comes in the smallest forms and over time they grow to something big. If money drives you, then work your tail off to earn as much as you can. If happiness drives you, then do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life.

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You are water; find where your downhill is.

/ Sushi House/

To me, being successful means...
Living a life that you truly believe in. Feeling like you can justify your life decisions to yourself (and not worrying about justifying them to others).

My definition of success has changed over time. 
I used to define success relative to other people, or inferred it from what others told me (with and without words). In particular, I valued self-sufficiency, high achievement with low effort, physical perfection, and charisma/influence over others.

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Live a Life of Meaning

/

To me, being successful means...
Finding out what fulfills you over the long term and then persevering through the obstacles and challenges that will present themselves to you. I say "over the long term" because no matter how much you love something, there will be days, weeks that are challenging.

My definition of success has changed over time. 
I thought success was a position, an award, an accolade or some other quantifiable thing. Now, I believe that kind of success also has a large element of luck as well. So therein lies the question, is a success that depends on luck really success at all? I'd argue not. Success is tied to your motivations, desires, effort, work, and resiliency. Therefore, success is more about finding a passion and driving forward through obstacles.

 

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Drinking my way out of Palo Alto

/ In my car, driving all around Palo Alto/

To me, being successful means...
being content and being happy

My definition of success has changed over time. 
success doesnt necessarily mean financial success (though that is a part of it) but it includes emotional success (are you happy living your life?)

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Competitive and sports loving, yet often humbled

/ Peninsula Creamery/

To me, being successful means...
Doing something that I'm good at and that I enjoy. For me, it happens to be business.

My definition of success has changed over time. 
I used to think getting into the best college was the most important. I've literally kept a mental notebook of many of my peers and I find little correlation between what college one attended and job and/or life fulfillment.

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Botanist and dancer, motivated by experience and love

/ Mitchell Park/

To me, being successful means...
continuing to grow as an empathetic human, focusing on self-care, and strengthening connections with those I love and with the world.

My definition of success has changed over time. 
I used to just strive to be happy. Now I know that there are many different ways to be, and happy is just a small part of that story.

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We Only Regret the Chances We Didn't Take

/ Coupa Cafe/

To me, being successful means...
To me, being successful means being proud of one's personal, educational, and/or professional accomplishments. I also consider being successful as realizing an important goal in one's life.

My definition of success has changed over time. 
I used to judge someone's success by their paycheck; while I still struggle not to financially compare myself to others, I know being successful does not necessarily correlate with one's salary (in fact, there can be a negative correlation).

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Late bloomer, MD

/

To me, being successful means...
Feeling accomplished. It doesn't take much; sometimes just completing what I set out to do in a day (which definitely doesn't always happen). But to me, having more of those days than not = success.

My definition of success has changed over time. 
After high school and college it becomes clear that if being passionate and working hard at ANYTHING will make you successful. High school gave off the impression that there were a select few fields that people should go into to be considered successful.

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Caution: Advice from the ashes

/ Jerry Bowden Park/

To me, being successful means...
Doing something that brings you the knowledge and happiness you seek out of your life.

My definition of success has changed over time. 
Different difficult events in my life and also getting out of high school. Once I was exposed to a more diverse people and a life that's not scheduled into subjects I grew and changed as a person a lot faster than I expected.

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Palo Alto stereotype?

/ Mitchell Park/

To me, being successful means...
Success means spending my time being useful, learning, and having close relationships with my family and friends.

My definition of success has changed over time. 
Success used to be more about what other people thought of me, now it's about what I think of me and what those I love think of me.

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Two steps forward, one step back: the imperfect college experience

/ Skyline/

To me, being successful means...
Being emotionally and physically stable while pursuing something you are passionate about.

My definition of success has changed over time. 
In high school I compared myself to my "successful" older siblings who took more AP courses than me while also having friends than me. I didn't know how to define myself outside of the standards others had set for me and was very lost. I tried really hard in everything I did but never felt it was enough. I had a terrible eating disorder which almost took my life and my anxiety was through the roof.

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Made all the "wrong" choices, still came out OK

/ Know Knew Books/

To me, being successful means...
Being able to positively impact people's lives.

My definition of success has changed over time. 
When I was younger I wanted to be able to control more of my path. I had very different goals at that time in my life - most of which involved non-sustainable career paths (like the arts).

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Real Life

/ El Carmelo/

To me, being successful means...
Discovering, accepting, and celebrating who I am and my unique potential to influence the world around me.

My definition of success has changed over time. 
I used to have a vague sense of what success was. Never being particularly career or money driven, I always tended to relish the moment and dream of the future. I had pictures in my mind of who I wanted to be as a person, not necessarily what I was doing.

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A Donut a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

/ Happy Donuts/

To me, being successful means...
To be content with where you are, but most importantly, who you are.

My definition of success has changed over time. 
I used to measure my success by where I stood compared to my peers. In hindsight, it's silly to think that a group of people, with all varying personalities and interests were expected to follow the same path.

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nihilist/anarchist teen becomes chef and dancer becomes academic microbiologist

/ Mitchell Park/

To me, being successful means...
Living a happy, vibrant, full life that has a positive impact on the world (even if the impact is tiny, it's still meaningful as long as it's positive).

My definition of success has not changed over time. 
I don't think my definition of success has fundamentally changed over time so much as I've gained the worldly knowledge to understand what I always knew to be true.

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