The summer issue of Success Magazine has a great article on success.  They spent about two years asking questions, taking polls, listening and doing whatever it took to learn:

"What Does Success Really Mean To An American?

It's never been simply about money - the idea is always tied in with our deepest hopes and fears about ourselves and society."

The following statistics are some of the results from two (2) years of research.

What does success in business mean?  

60.0%  "Adding value to the lives of others."
18.8%  "Making a lot of money."

What is the single most important element for success?

41.0%   Faith
25.5%   Family
11.7%   Balanced life
7.3%     Happiness

What does it take to get there? 

In the ranking of what is most important in achieving success, we had some surprising results.  Only 3.4% of those polled believe that education is one of the most important determiners of who will become successful.

The others which ranked least important: 

1.1%  Where you grew up
1.1%  Luck
.7%  Being wealthy

More of what does it take to become successful: 

58.9%  Attitude & Motivation
18.0%  Intergrity & Hard work
11.2%  Determination
-----------------------------------
Total 88.1%

This information should give all of us a clue about what success means and the types of characteristics to develop in ourselves in order to move forward. 

The bottom line in my mind is this, 88.1% state that attitude, motivation, integrity, hard work and determination are what will help anyone, regardless of background, move forward and achieve their goals. 

Moving up to the next rank in Shaklee is what most people I talk with really want. If this is true, then the above research by Success Magazine can be a guideline or a path to run on.

Think about it!

 

    — Gary Burke