Defining Success by John Kimbro
A visionary is, by definition, someone who pursues his or her
dreams. He or she attempts things that other people simply would not.
Their cast iron conviction is what makes one person's unacceptable risk
another person's unavoidable destiny. To paraphrase Challenger
astronaut and physicist Ron McNair, it's man's nature to explore the
unknown.
At one time or another, many of us have entertained
exploiting our potential, or at least exploring something of
considerable interest: starting a business, landing that dream job,
additional education, a fresh approach to an old routine, or simply
uncovering a new means of applying existing resources. However big or
small, these exploitation's and explorations are fundamental to the
central proposition: What separates those who have only the potential
to succeed from those who actually do? By now, the answer should be
quite evident.
''Success is akin to happiness," Sutton points
out. ''Most people search all their lives for success but never find
it. Why? Because it lies within. Success is that rare gem that must be
mined out through the inner resources. This mining out is one of life's
toughest challenges."
During my scores of interviews with many of Black America's most successful people, here's what they had to say about success:
Defining Success
Terrie
Williams, founder of the PR firm that bears her name, thinks of success
the same as Sutton. ''Success goes beyond the dollar sign,'' she says.
''It encompasses the total package: inner harmony, comfort, and
emotional well being. I deal with a lot of people whom society would
label "successful" -- those who have all the material trappings. In a
few cases, I wouldn't be so quick to agree. While chasing the brass
ring, they have allowed joy and happiness to slip through their very
hands.''
Joshua Smith, CEO of the Maxima Corp., told me that
true success lies somewhere between personal development and economic
freedom. ''Personal growth and independence seem to be natural,'' he
said. ''It's man's nature to desire more of what life offers. But it is
also man's responsibility to develop himself to his fullest, so that he
earns the right to life's best.''
George Smith, a Black man
with a 3rd grade education, who from a standing start in the oil fields
of east Texas, built a personal fortune in the millions, offers a
slight variation on what those already quoted think success is: ''Some
of the most successful people, and the happiest I might add, are those
doing something that they know to be important or personally pleasing,
rather than something that allows them to make a lot of money. Doing
something that you enjoy is a key component of success.''
J.
Bruce Llewellyn, one of Black America's wealthiest and holder of three
businesses that rank among the BLACK ENTERPRISE 100s, seemed clearly
annoyed that, even in the 1990s, Black America is still trying to
navigate the convoluted waters of success. ''Failure is not an
overnight experience, and neither is success. Both occur over time and
are rarely perceptible to the untrained eye. There is no short road to
success. It emanates from long, hard years of concentrated effort, from
going the extra mile and doing what others will rarely do. Succeeding
is tough. It's nerve wracking, gut-wrenching, and pain inducing.
However, there's an old saying, "Hard work doesn't guarantee you
anything, but without it you don't stand a chance."
When asked
if he considered himself successful, Llewellyn didn't hesitate to
answer: ''Actually, I'm somewhere in the process. In many respects, I
enjoy a lifestyle that few have experienced. But that doesn't mean that
others can't or won't. It's all a matter of will, determination, and
seizing opportunities. You can't leave success to chance. You must act
to acquire it with a vengeance and to pursue it with a passion."
George
Fraser, best selling author of Success Runs in Our Race, took a page
from the motivational writer Earl Nightingale. ''Success,'' Fraser
says, ''is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal. The happiest
and most contented people are those in pursuit of their dreams or
ideals.'' Fraser discovered this definition and its meaning firsthand,
once he left an $85,000 a year post with the United Way in Cleveland to
chase brighter rainbows.
Ebony's John H. Johnson seemed to say
it all. He told me that success is something you never attain. And who
would know better than he? Johnson has a real feel for the combat that
entrepreneurship requires. Not only has he survived many bitterly
contested wars, but his life is an example that to the victor goes the
spoils.
''Success is not a destination; it's an ongoing
process, and you should enjoy every step and detail along the way,''
says Johnson. ''I approach each business day as if it were my last,
always looking to consolidate my strengths and shore up my weaknesses.
I've never been one to rest on my laurels. I think when you start to do
that, you automatically relinquish any hope of accomplishments."
Ernesta
Procope, CEO of Wall Street's E.G. Bowman Company, replied in rather
traditional, objective terms: ''Continuous hard work. Stubborn
determination. Faith.''
''Is that all?" I asked.
''There
are other factors," she replied, ''but those who succeed, for the most
part, do not deviate from this formula. These are the three main
qualities that have served me well throughout my career."
Herman
J. Russell, CEO of H.J. Russell & Co. in Atlanta, agrees.
''Success," he says, ''comes not from doing the impossible, but from
doing the possible everyday. We only need to succeed with single acts
every day, each day, to have a successful life. It's a long, slow
grind.''
After years of research and exhausting interviews
into the subject, I have come to know what success is and isn't.
Accordingly, success is:
*
An attitude and a matter of
choice. It is available to all who will take charge of the direction of
their lives. The path to success leads through service.
*
Success
is the process of learning and growing. It requires that the individual
step out of line, away from the pack, and march to the beat of a
different, sometimes distant, drummer. Success is knowing yourself and
what you want.
*
Success is born by the pursuit of a goal or
an ideal which will benefit others as easily as the dreamer. Success
cannot be conferred upon others. Success can only be earned through
individual initiative.
*
Succeeding means risk taking, courage, faith and commitment. Frederick Douglass was correct: success is born of struggle.
*
Success
demands the use of whatever abilities and talents are available. It
decays on the 40 hour work week. It is derived from labors of love. The
achiever will be most successful doing what he or she truly enjoys.
*
Some
indicators of success come from the desire to leave behind some great
work that will survive or endure--in other words, permanence.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr.
Dennis Kimbro, author of the best sellers Think & Grow Rich: A
Black Choice and Daily Motivations for African American Success, will
feature his third book, What Makes the Great Great: Strategies for
Extraordinary Achievement, (Doubleday) January, 1997.
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