Defining success

John Maxwell - American author, speaker, and pastor

Success is not a destination thing, it’s a daily thing.

Roy T. Bennett - Author

Success is not how high you have climbed, but how you make a positive difference to the world.

Jim Rohn - American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker

Success is something you attract by the person you become.

Stephen R. Covey - American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker

All things are created twice. There’s a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation to all things.

Aristotle - Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece

A good life is one where you develop your strengths, realize your potential, and become what it is in your nature to become.

Rumi - 13th-century Persian poet

What you seek is seeking you.

Richard Wiseman - Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom

Happiness doesn't just flow from success; it actually causes it.

Viktor Frankl - Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist, philosopher, author, and Holocaust survivor

Don't aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run—in the long-run, I say!—success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it.

Wallace Delois Wattles - American New Thought writer

By thought, the thing you want is brought to you; by action you receive it.

Napoleon Hill - American self-help author. He is known best for his book Think and Grow Rich which is among the 10 best selling self-help books of all time

The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.

Don Miguel Ruiz - Mexican author of Toltec spiritualist and neoshamanistic texts

You can have many great ideas in your head, but what makes the difference is the action. Without action upon an idea, there will be no manifestation, no results, and no reward.

John Calvin Maxwell - American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership

Success is... knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.

Vernon Linwood Howard - American spiritual teacher, author, and philosopher

You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need.

Robert Toru Kiyosaki - American businessman and author. Kiyosaki is the founder of Rich Global LLC and the Rich Dad Company, a private financial education company that provides personal finance and business education to people through books and videos

Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.

Brian Tracy - Canadian-American motivational public speaker and self-development author.

Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, 'What's in it for me?'

John Wooden - American basketball player and coach

Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.

Stephen Covey - American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker. His most popular book is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Start with the end in mind.

Stephen Covey - American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker. His most popular book is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Live out of your imagination, not your history.

James Clear - Author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits, which has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide

Be the designer of your world and not merely the consumer of it.

Dale Carnegie - American writer and lecturer, and the developer of courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills

Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.

Josh Waitzkin - American chess player, martial arts competitor, and author. As a child, he was recognized as a prodigy, and won the U.S. Junior Chess championship in 1993 and 1994. The film Searching for Bobby Fischer is based on his early life

In my experience, successful people shoot for the stars, put their hearts on the line in every battle, and ultimately discover that the lessons learned from the pursuit of excellence mean much more than the immediate trophies and glory.

Sir John Hargrave - Author, comedian, and entrepreneur

It is a simple and obvious fact that nothing of value can be achieved until you first see it in your mind. So tell me: When you unlock that secret treasure chest in your mind, what do you see?

Ryan Holiday - American marketer, author and bookstore owner. He is the former director of marketing for American Apparel

Most successful people are people you’ve never heard of. They want it that way. It keeps them sober. It helps them do their jobs.

Daniel G. Amen - American celebrity doctor who practices as a psychiatrist and brain disorder specialist as director of the Amen Clinics

To feel successful, you must be able to be honest about the things that are really important to you.

Ben Bergeron trains some of the world's fittest athletes. A former Ironman triathlete turned CrossFit Games competitor, Ben has coached athletes to six world championships

Success is a decision, not a gift.

Raymond Charles Barker - Leader and author in the New Thought spiritual movement and, specifically, in Religious Science

You can have what you want, but you have to think what you want, and you have to think of it as already being so. This is the science that Jesus exemplified.

John Calvin Maxwell - American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership. Titles include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. His books have sold millions of copies, with some on the New York Times Best Seller List

Where success is concerned, people are not measured in inches, or pounds, or college degrees, or family background; they are measured by the size of their thinking.

Robert Greene - American author known for his books on strategy, power, and seduction. He has written six international bestsellers: The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law, Mastery, and The Laws of Human Nature

The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.

Tony Robbins - American author, coach, speaker, and philanthropist. Robbins is known for his infomercials, seminars, and self-help books including the books Unlimited Power and Awaken the Giant Within

Success without fulfillment is failure.

Orison Swett Marden - American inspirational author who wrote about achieving success in life and founded SUCCESS magazine in 1897

Success is not measured by what you accomplish but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.

Orison Swett Marden - American inspirational author who wrote about achieving success in life and founded SUCCESS magazine in 1897

All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers.

Orison Swett Marden - American inspirational author who wrote about achieving success in life and founded SUCCESS magazine in 1897

The greatest thing a man can do in this world, is to make the most possible out of the stuff that has been given him. This is success, and there is no other.

Wystan Hugh Auden - Anglo-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, form, and content

Human beings are by nature actors who cannot become something until they have first pretended to be it.

Rory Vaden - One of the top 100 leadership speakers in the world according to Inc. Magazine. He is a Hall of Fame motivational speaker, New York Times bestselling author, and has a TEDx talk with millions of views. Rory is a recognized expert and speaker on business strategy and leadership

The number one risk that rich people are willing to take is to be paid for their results rather than or in addition to their time. They choose to take a chance on themselves. They believe in their own self-discipline and their own ability to produce results.

Rory Vaden - One of the top 100 leadership speakers in the world according to Inc. Magazine. He is a Hall of Fame motivational speaker, New York Times bestselling author, and has a TEDx talk with millions of views. Rory is a recognized expert and speaker on business strategy and leadership

Success comes down to choosing the hard right over the easy wrong. Consistently.

Gary Keller - American entrepreneur and best-selling author. He is the founder of Keller Williams, which is the largest real estate company in the world by agent count, closed sales volume, and units sold

Success demands singleness of purpose.

Darren Hardy - American author, keynote speaker, advisor, and former publisher of SUCCESS magazine. Hardy is a New York Times best-selling author, who wrote The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster, Living Your Best Year Ever and The Compound Effect

There’s nothing wrong with ordinary. I just prefer to shoot for extraordinary.

Darren Hardy - American author, keynote speaker, advisor, and former publisher of SUCCESS magazine. Hardy is a New York Times best-selling author, who wrote The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster, Living Your Best Year Ever and The Compound Effect

Earning success is hard. The process is laborious, tedious, sometimes even boring. Becoming wealthy, influential, and world-class in your field is slow and arduous.

Brené Brown - American professor, lecturer, author, and podcast host

Understanding the difference between healthy striving and perfectionism is critical to laying down the shield and picking up your life. Research shows that perfectionism hampers success. In fact, it's often the path to depression, anxiety, addiction, and life paralysis.

Matthew Kelly - Author, speaker, thought leader, entrepreneur, consultant, spiritual leader, and innovator

Who you become is infinitely more important than what you do, or what you have.

D.C. Gonzalez - Peak performance coach and a bestselling author

Imagineering is vital because it leads to greater self-belief and greater confidence, which in turn leads to better performance and achievements.

Scott Adams - American artist and cartoonist. He is the creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, and business. Dilbert came to national prominence during the downsizing period in 1990s America and reached a worldwide audience

If you want success, figure out the price, then pay it. It sounds trivial and obvious, but if you unpack the idea it has extraordinary power.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - Hungarian-American psychologist. He recognised and named the psychological concept of flow, a highly focused mental state conducive to productivity potential energy

...success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue...as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a course greater than oneself.

Earl Nightingale - American radio speaker and author, dealing mostly with the subjects of human character development, motivation, and meaningful existence

Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal.

Earl Nightingale - American radio speaker and author, dealing mostly with the subjects of human character development, motivation, and meaningful existence

Your success will always be measured by the quality and quantity of service you render.

Warren G. Bennis - American scholar, organizational consultant and author, widely regarded as a pioneer of the contemporary field of Leadership studies

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.

Orison Swett Marden - American inspirational author who wrote about achieving success in life and founded SUCCESS magazine in 1897. His writings discuss common-sense principles and virtues that make for a well-rounded, successful life. Many of his ideas are based on New Thought philosophy

Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.

Jiddu Krishnamurti - Philosopher, speaker and writer. In his early life, he was groomed to be the new World Teacher, but later rejected this mantle and withdrew from the Theosophy organization behind it

We all want to be famous people—and the moment we want to be something, we are no longer free.

Wallace D. Wattles - American New Thought writer. He remains personally somewhat obscure, but his writing has been widely quoted and remains in print in the New Thought and self-help movements

Get rid of the idea that God wants you to sacrifice yourself for others, and that you can secure his favor by doing so; God requires nothing of the kind from you. What He wants is that you should make the most of yourself, for yourself, and for others; and you can help others more by making the most of yourself than in any other way.

Fred Rogers - American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which ran from 1968 to 2001

The thing I remember best about successful people I've met all through the years is their obvious delight in what they're doing and it seems to have very little to do with worldly success. They just love what they're doing, and they love it in front of others.

Fred Rogers - American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which ran from 1968 to 2001

There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.

Shad Helmstetter - Author of more than twenty books in the field of personal growth. His ground-breaking classic on the subject of self-talk, "What to Say When You Talk to Your Self," is published in over 70 countries, and is in its 45th printing in 30+ years of publication

Success, ultimately, is up to the individual. It isn’t the pen—it’s the writer; it isn’t the road—it’s the runner that counts.

Twyla Tharp - American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music

If art is the bridge between what you see in your mind and what the world sees, then skill is how you build that bridge.

Robert Fritz - American author, management consultant, composer, and filmmaker. He is known for his development of structural dynamics, the study of how structural relationships impact behavior from individuals to organizations

Dreamers only dream, but creators bring their dreams into reality.