Every year in May I get inspired to share my thoughts on success, especially as I see my friend's kids graduating from high school. I am going to share what I still believe, and a few tidbits I want to add this year. Just as life is what you make of it, success is how you define it. Success is not a thing, and it is not a finish line, it is a state of mind. Once you have it you can lose it much more easily than you achieved it. The good news is that you can get it back, and your definition of success will evolve as you grow older. As you get older, if you are lucky, life becomes much more about the journey than the destination, you become at peace with who you are, and aspire to help as many people as possible become the people they want, and deserve to be. I will again share with you some common characteristics of people I have had the pleasure of meeting in my life that have achieved success on many different levels ( I have added a few this year). * Never fear failure * Know who they are, and own it * Learn from failure * Treat everyone they encounter in life (personal and business) with respect * Realize their best achievements are the result of collaboration * Have passion for what they do, and how they do it * Enjoy learning from others * Know how to really listen * Are inspiring without even trying * Allow others to fail and grow from failure * Embrace those who challenge them * Are great teammates as well as leaders My personal story from this year, I see my son Austin who has Autism run in cross country and track , and despite the fact he comes in last in a race from time to time, it does not deter him from trying again, and it does not impact his spirit to compete. The courage he already has displayed in his life shows me that he is already well on his way to being successful. In many ways, he has had more success already in his life than I will ever achieve. In closing, I few of my favorite quotes that I look to during my journey to achieve how I currently define my own success: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” Charles Darwin “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Steve Jobs