Success and the Dog Walker

There’s a dog walker in my neighborhood and every time I’m out for a walk with my dog, I see him with a different dog. (That’s how I figured out he was a dog walker!) He’s probably in his mid-forties, and must be shy because he walks with his head down and keeps to himself. Today, after months of passing each other on the street several times a week, we exchanged a few words (then he crossed the street!). I asked him if he did anything besides walk dogs for a living and he told me that this was his full-time job. My first thought was “Wow, how can he possibly make a living by just walking dogs”?

Walking my dog Bo

Then the entrepreneur in me kicked in and I imagined how his business could grow if he hired lots of dog walkers and started marketing more aggressively. Perhaps he could expand to dog and house sitting. Maybe even open a doggie daycare and sell dog paraphernalia like leashes and cute outfits.

I could see him making 6 figures, running a large, successful firm by focusing on what clearly must be his passion – dogs.

But then the coach in me kicked in and I realized that having what society sees as a ‘successful business’ doesn’t always mean having a successful life. Maybe being out in the fresh air all day, surround by a stunning lake and majestic trees, and picking up dog poop, is what makes him happy. Maybe having the time and freedom to do things besides work day and night is his idea of success. (Maybe if he stops avoiding me I can ask him!) For me personally, living a balanced life and having flexibility in my schedule is a big reason why I became a ‘homepreneur’ (an entrepreneur that works from home). The most important thing to consider is what success means to you and to build your days and your life around that.

When I first trained as a coach through Coachville, I learned a powerful technique to determine what success means to me, and I use it with most of my coaching clients to help them uncover their definition of success. It’s only after they make this discovery that I can help them create goals and an action plan to build their lives around it. So many times we live our days based on someone else’s meaning of success and unknowingly adopt it as our own. Then we wonder, with everything that we have accomplished, why we are still feeling empty and dissatisfied with life. If you would like to create success statements for yourself, try completing this sentence several times:

“I know I am successful by _________. (See examples below).

You may be tempted to change the word ‘by’ to the word ‘when’ – resist this temptation because success is not a destination, it’s a way of traveling throughout each day. Keep working at it until each sentence tickles you inside – then you know you’ve got it right. Hope you will share your success statements with me and this wonderful online community by posting below. I’m happy to share some of mine:

I know I am successful by how much extreme self care I practice.

I know I am successful by how often I nourish my mind.

I know I am successful by how freely I speak my truth.

I know I am successful by how effortlessly I move towards my dreams.

I know I am successful by how profoundly I affect others.

I know I am successful by effectively I’m using my talents.

I know I am successful by how much flexibility I have in my day.

I know I am successful by how much independence I enjoy.