{"id":13791,"date":"2019-11-18T18:41:14","date_gmt":"2019-11-18T23:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.berdeogroup.com\/?p=13791"},"modified":"2023-12-18T11:17:48","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T16:17:48","slug":"are-you-a-success-perspectives-from-around-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.berdeogroup.com\/are-you-a-success-perspectives-from-around-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You a Success? Perspectives from Around the World"},"content":{"rendered":"

Straight talk from four business leaders in Ethiopia, Israel, and more.<\/h2>\n

I\u2019ve written extensively about charting your course in life. Defining success for yourself, on your terms, is key to living a full and meaningful life. But in a U.S. culture that emphasizes wealth, power and recognition, success based on intrinsic motivators may seem instinctively foreign. When was the last time you asked yourself, \u201cWhat does success mean to me?\u201d If your answer elicits negative emotions, then you haven\u2019t yet found your true North.<\/p>\n

In his book\u00a0Find Your Way<\/em>, author and speaker Simon Sinek says, \u201cVery few people or companies can clearly articulate why they do what they do. By why, I mean your purpose, cause or\u00a0belief<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 why does your company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? Why should anyone care?\u201d Living by\u00a0your why<\/a>\u00a0means defining success on your terms and ignoring the one-size-fits-all approach.<\/p>\n

So, how do you abandon a culturally ingrained definition of success\u2013one that you\u2019re conditioned from a young age to pursue? We interviewed four very successful leaders from varying professions and countries to understand how their unique definitions of success have shaped their careers and perspectives.<\/p>\n

Wubet Girma, Deputy Country Director, British Council Ethiopia<\/h2>\n

Wubet Girma spent her long\u00a0career<\/a>\u00a0creating opportunities for underprivileged Ethiopians through programs focused on building skills and capacities, investing in social and human capital for inclusive and sustainable growth. \u201cI was 17 and trying to find my way and my passion and my life\u2019s goal, so it\u2019s when I started asking the question regarding if people are born with the potential or with something to give to this world, then why are they not doing that? But then I started asking that question and started reading about social justice and the fact that people don\u2019t get what they need and don\u2019t have the opportunities to pursue that. I chose Sociology and social administration. I decided to go back to school to be able to work with people and help them pursue that.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, how does access play a role in people\u2019s success? Now, as the Deputy Director at British Council Ethiopia, she has the unique opportunity to create programs that help support those who otherwise wouldn\u2019t have access to them. Her involvement in\u00a0EthicalCoach<\/a>\u00a0bridges the for-profit and nonprofit worlds, bringing executive\u00a0coaching<\/a>, previously only available to corporate leaders, to charities and nonprofit organizations addressing the greatest humanitarian and environmental challenges of our time.<\/p>\n

How do you define success for yourself?<\/h3>\n

\u201cFinding out what I\u2019m here for and pursuing that \u2026 regardless of the challenges that I come across. So many people don\u2019t have the same access to basic educational services and safety, and those of us who are privileged need to give back and create opportunities for those who don\u2019t have it.\u201d<\/p>\n

What advice would you give to people in pursuit of their success?<\/h3>\n

\u201cTry and find what you are here for; what\u00a0your purpose<\/a>\u00a0is; what you\u2019re all about. I would focus on not comparing yourself to others, but rather having your own conception of who you are, as there is only one you in this world. So, what it is about you that you can give? What is so unique about you?\u201d<\/p>\n

How have you overcome the different challenges you\u2019ve faced?<\/h3>\n

\u201cDifferent phases of my life have imposed different challenges. What has taken me through that is the mindset that I should be living out my passion regardless of the barriers that I come across. We recently discovered something profound that my Grandfather wrote in his notebook. It says, \u2019You don\u2019t need to do too much, but hold on to that one thing your heart desires and you are passionate about, and devote yourself to it wholeheartedly.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Keren Maimon, Founder of Tel Aviv Investing, Israel<\/h2>\n

Keren Maimon was not your average teenager. Fascinated by software development, she immersed herself in it and taught herself how to program. She founded her first startup, which created a location-based real estate app, to help her sister more easily find an apartment. From there, she founded the software development company Appollo to ensure partnership with every startup they helped to develop. The company expanded swiftly, and thus her responsibilities did, too. These were formative years for Maimon as she learned \u201cthe important parameters for an entrepreneur to succeed. I think that it all begins in passion, belief, the will of entrepreneurs not to give up and the desire to make a change to something in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, at the ripe age of 24, she is a partner at Tel Aviv Capital, a venture capital fund and investment bank that has raised more than $120 million for Israeli start-ups.<\/p>\n

How do you define success for yourself?<\/h3>\n

\u201cMy satisfaction comes from the journey and not the destination. I think the first time I felt slightly accomplished was when I realized that I employed a large group of people, and, due to the business I built, they can provide for their families. It’s that moment when you realize and understand that you have an impact on a lot of people\u2019s lives and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n

How has being a woman in a male-dominated field shaped your work ethic?<\/h3>\n

\u201cIt is true that there are gaps that must be bridged, but much of that depends on us, the women, as well. Do we give room and attribute\u00a0high importance to these gaps? Or try to initiate, overcome and bridge them? I think that in Israel there is a great effort to try to integrate women into the high-tech sector.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is your advice for individuals in pursuit of their definition of success?<\/h3>\n

\u201cNot to give up on their\u00a0dreams<\/a>, to believe in their vision \u2026The most important thing that only experience can teach you is choosing the right partners and investors for your journey. They are those who need to believe in you and your vision; it\u2019s most important because when times get tough, they will support you no matter what. Success needs to be felt collectively; the partners should stay humble and respectful to one another, this is what I believe to be the foundation of entrepreneurs succeed \u2026 Stay real and honest with yourself and be in a supportive environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Myo Myint Kyaw, Founder and CEO of Revo, Myanmar<\/h2>\n

Over the past decade, entrepreneurs like Myo Myint Kyaw have played key roles in Myanmar\u2019s economic revival. When he co-founded leading creative digital agency, Revo, in 2012, Kyaw was not in pursuit of wealth or power, but in creating jobs for his fellow citizens. Revo is Myanmar\u2019s first and only Facebook local partner and has been in partnership with many other high-impact international brands. Kyaw also founded Akhayar Media in 2016, which has grown to become Myanmar\u2019s leading digital media resource for lifestyle and technology-related content.<\/p>\n

How do you define success for yourself?<\/h3>\n

\u201cTo have a meaningful measure of success, you need to have a goal in life. I don\u2019t measure with revenue or anything external. My goal is very simple. I want to create jobs in Myanmar. If you are only motivated by extrinsic\u00a0goals<\/a>, you will never be satisfied. You need to have a purpose in life. You need to know why you started. Then you will know what success is.\u201d<\/p>\n

How has travel impacted your leadership?<\/h3>\n

\u201cI was a very\u00a0shy<\/a>\u00a0guy and working in London really shaped how I operate and lead my company. I learned a lot about how to run a successful business from my previous my bosses abroad. It becomes easier to operate and do businesses with other countries when you experience other cultures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Victoria Welsby, Founder of Bam Pow Life, Canada<\/h2>\n

Victoria Welsby is a highly sought-after\u00a0confidence<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0body image<\/a>\u00a0coach, body positivity activist and best-selling author. Her path was riddled with incredible hardships, including homelessness and emotional and physical abuse. \u201cI have been in the depths of despair, not even believing that I deserved a permanent home. My standards were so low.\u201d Getting through this experience helped shape who she is today. \u201cBecause I changed that [a disempowering mindset] for myself, I know the power of believing in yourself, loving yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Before becoming a full-time coach, Welsby had a well-paying corporate job. She knew, however, that she was not fulfilling her life\u2019s purpose, which was empowering women through her work. \u201cMy goal is to change the world, and so I had to quit my job.\u201d She quit her career to pursue her dream with six months in living expenses saved.<\/p>\n

How do you define success for yourself?<\/h3>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s freedom\u2014working for myself; being able to do anything I want; working on any project I want; making my own hours and having the financial freedom to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

What factors motivated you to overcome the challenges you faced?<\/h3>\n

\u201cThere were lots of times when I thought, \u2018Who am I kidding?\u2019 I left a cushy career that was easy and well-paid, not making money at the time. But the thought of going back to a \u2019real job\u2019 made me sick \u2026 But the\u00a0fear<\/a>\u00a0of doing whatever I was doing in my business was not as great as the fear of going back to the corporate world.\u201d<\/p>\n

What advice do you give to individuals pursuing their definition of success?<\/h3>\n

\u201cI see so often people wanting to do something with their vision, and they don\u2019t take action because it isn\u2019t perfect or they aren\u2019t perfect and it makes them not take any action. The reality is you\u2019re not perfect. No one is. If you want everything to be perfect, then nothing\u2019s ever going to happen. I\u2019m also comfortable with that fact that you can\u2019t predict what\u2019s going to happen, but you can do your very best. For those who don\u2019t have the means to quit their career to start a business, Welsby recommends \u201ctaking a part-time job that is closer to what you really want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Figuring out your definition of success<\/a>\u00a0takes a great deal of introspection and vulnerability. The journey will be scary at times. There will be moments when your\u00a0inner critic<\/a>\u00a0will tell you to raise the white flag. As we\u2019ve learned from these four incredible, but also very human, individuals, returning to your \u201cwhy\u201d will get you through the storm. So\u2014darn it!\u2014what\u2019s your \u201cwhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on\u00a0Psychology Today<\/a> Oct 02, 2018<\/p>\n<\/div>

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