Hitting the Big Time

Today I was on LinkedIn. I am a member of several groups on LinkedIn for design professionals. The groups provide a very valuable resource to get feedback, ask questions and network with other professionals in my field. I've used the discussion boards many times to get answers I needed or just to follow a discussion on an interesting topic.

I get regular email updates about weekly questions that people are asking in the groups. Today one caught my eye in a forum called Designers Talk. It read:

You hit the big time … and then what?

When you've made your millions, what do you intend to do? Help others in the same field? Provide free solutions for charities? Perhaps fund causes close to home? And - not unrelated - have you ever told anyone your honest reasons for your burning desire to succeed? (Are they related to the first question?)

Here was my response:

I have always dreamed of hitting the "big time" - like most people. I've always wanted to have disposable income to do fun stuff like taking my wife on dream vacations, buying a quad and going on quad trails, supping up a Nissan Skyline GTR, spoiling my kids, taking care of my parents in the old age, and giving to ministries and other causes I would love to greatly support. To be honest though, a lot of my desire for success - upon close examination - has to do with approval, and justifying myself, and my choices.

To be completely honest, I have recently begun to look at "success" in a new light. As I get older (and I'm only 27) I begin to see that money is not the answer to life's problems. In fact, many times it is the beginning of life's problems. How many people have you seen or heard of in the media or elsewhere who made it "big" and next thing you know they are getting a divorce, or in trouble with the law? Money clearly doesn't solve all problems, and I think it is wisdom that recognizes putting trust in money is foolish.

Some people misquote that Bible verse that says "money is the root of all evil" (misquoted). What the text actually says (and I had two semesters of Bible Greek at a Christian College) is "the LOVE of money is a root of all kinds of evil." Money is sort of a-moral. Smart people can do smart things with it. Dumb people can do dumb things with it. Good people like wise good things, and bad people likewise bad things.

The point: there are so many other things in life that I am beginning to aspire to OTHER than money that I believe will truly define "SUCCESS" for me.

What do you think? What defines success in your life?