When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?

The older I get, the deeper my definition of success becomes. If I was asked this question as a teenager my response would probably be about tangible things like property and finances. If you asked me this question a decade ago, in my twenties, success would be about family. Now in my 30s, success to me is more about impact.

When I think about the word successful, a number of people come to mind and top of this list is my uncle of blessed memory. He was successful as far as the tangible things are concerned, having retired after a successful career in the army that saw him seated in positions of leadership. But that is not why he comes to mind.

As we all reflected on his life at his passing a year ago, one thing was clear; this man was genuinely kind and lived to impact lives positively, carrying everyone along as far as he humanly could. You could see it in the way he helped others without expecting a thing in return.

My definition of success may be different from yours, I’m curious to know what does successful mean to you?