1. Why a "Success Story" ?

Creating your Success Story

2. Create your own Success Story

A success story is a comprehensive desription of what success looks like, taking all the key components/factors of success into account. Each person needs to create their own definition of success that will inspire, move and touch them to struggle through adversity to achieve it.

My experience has shown me that people do better at something when they know why they're doing it. Having a compelling reason to do something like the Comrades Marathon, loosing weight, working hard to successfully complete a course or even just doing your day-to-day job, is a valuable motivator. It also provides context for how you go about doing what you've set out to do or achieve.

People are usually familiar with the terminology of a vision and mission statement, and because of past experience do not really believe in the value of going through all the effort to create vision and mission statements. For this reason, I work with success stories, not success statements, but stories! A statement is too brief, leaving plenty of room for ambiguity.

The concept of the Success Story can be applied to teams and organisations. Here, I am going to apply it in the context of personal life success. Getting this right will give you clarity in making career,  business and other potentially life-changing decisions.

You can create your success story by following these four steps:

    1. Identify your key success factors 

    2. Describe what success looks like for each of these success factors

    3. Create a set of S-M-A-R-T objectives to measure and monitor progress along your success journey.
    4. Create an action plan for a disciplined approach to delivering on your objectives.

1. Key Success Factors
Identifying key success factors involves introspection and an honest assessment of what truly matters to you. These factors should align with your core values and long-term objectives.

Here are examples for you to consider in creating your own set of success factors:

• Spirituality
  What is the meaning and purpose of your life?
  What happens to you when you die, and how does this impact on what you do while alive on Earth?
• Growth & Learning
  How do you learn and how is your learning serving your purpose?
  In what ways do you want to grow and develop?
• Career & Work
  What are your work and career aspirations?
  How are you using your skills, experience, and loves to contribute value to others?
  What is your preferred means to financial sustainability?
• Health & Fitness
  How do you maintain good physical health?
  How do you maintain good mental health?
  How do you maintain good psychological and emotional health?
• Fun & Recreation
  What do you enjoy doing for fun?
  What do you enjoy doing to relax?
• Environment
  How is your environment at work impacting on your performance and well-being?
  How is your environment at home impacting on you?
• Community
  How are the people in your work Whoenvironment impacting you and your ability to succeed?
  How are the people in your home neighbourhood impacting you and your ability to succeed?
• Family & Friends
  How are the quality of your relationships with those closest to you?
  Which of your family and friends are important to you?
  How are you nurturing the important relationships in your life?
• Marriage
  Is it important for you to have a spouse?
  How are you maintaining a flourishing relationship with your spouse?
  What needs to happen for your marriage to flourish even more? 
• Money & Finance
  How do you finance your living?
  What do you do to maintain sustainable financial security and stability?

2. Success Descriptions
Once you've identified your success factors, the next step is to visualize what success looks like in each area. This is a creative and aspirational exercise where you define your ideal state by creating success stories for each of your success factors.

I am a coach, mentor, facilitator and teacher. So for example, some success descriptions for me could be:

• For Growth & Learning, success might look like mastering new teaching methods, expanding my knowledge in a particular area of entrepreneurship, or learning what likely leads to tangible improvements in the businesses I coach.
• In Community, success for me could be reflected in a strong network of supportive colleagues and neighbours, contributing to a vibrant local economy, or engaging in meaningful community service.

3. SMART Objectives
Setting S.M.A.R.T (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) objectives is where your success story (vision) gets translated into goals for which you can create actionable steps.

Examples of SMART objectives for my my two example success factors described above are: 

Growth & Learning

Success Description: Mastering new teaching methods, expanding knowledge in entrepreneurship, and learning what leads to tangible improvements in the businesses you coach.

S.M.A.R.T Objectives:

1. Mastering New Teaching Methods:

   • Objective: Attend two professional development workshops on innovative teaching methods by the end of Q2 2024.
   • Measure: Completion of workshops and implementation of at least three new methods in your classes or coaching sessions by end of Q3 2024.

2. Expanding Knowledge in Entrepreneurship:

   • Objective: Complete an advanced course or certification in a specific area of entrepreneurship, such as digital transformation or sustainable business practices, by end of Q4 2024.
   • Measure: Obtain certification and integrate at least two major learnings into your teaching or coaching curriculum.

3. Learning for Business Improvement:

   • Objective: Conduct a research project or case study analysis on successful entrepreneurial strategies by end of Q1 2025, involving at least five businesses you've coached.
   • Measure: Completion of the study and presentation of findings to a relevant audience, with documented feedback or implementation of recommendations in at least three of the businesses involved.

Community

Success Description: Building a strong network of supportive colleagues and neighbors, contributing to a vibrant local economy, and engaging in meaningful community service.

S.M.A.R.T Objectives:

1. Building Supportive Networks:

   • Objective: Initiate and lead a monthly networking event for local entrepreneurs and business leaders, starting from 10 January 2024.
   • Measure: Successfully organize 12 networking events by the end of 2024 with an average attendance of at least 20 people per event.

2. Contributing to Local Economy:

   • Objective: Collaborate with two local businesses to co-develop community-based projects that enhance economic growth, to be initiated by 1 June 2024.
   • Measure: Launch of projects and an evaluation report on the impact on the local economy by the end of 2024.

3. Engaging in Community Service:

   • Objective: Volunteer for a local non-profit organization, dedicating 4 hours per month, starting in 2024.
   • Measure: Completion of 48 hours of community service by the end of 2024, with a personal reflection report on the experience and its impact.
     
     

4. Action Plan

Once done with the above, you are ready to create your action plan to support your efforts to achieving your objectives, which when done will result in you living into your success story.

Look out for a next article on creating action plans that work!