786. Expert Interview: The Power of Redefining Success
C.J. McClanahan
C.J. McClanahan is a sought-after speaker, author and executive coach. Since 2003, he’s spent more than 10,000 hours in front of entrepreneurs, executives and their teams helping them to achieve record sales and profits. A few years after starting his coaching firm, C.J. noticed that no matter how much success his clients achieved, very few ever seemed to truly enjoy the journey. It didn’t matter if they doubled their income or became CEO─it never seemed to be enough. His latest book, “The Overachiever’s Dilemma,” lays out a proven strategy to help overachievers get more satisfaction and joy in their lives while still achieving all their professional goals.
The Power of Redefining Success
After I had been coaching for a while, I noticed that while most of my clients were financially successful and were achieving most of the business goals they had set for themselves, their overall level of satisfaction with their lives as a whole was sub-optimal. They continued to compare themselves to other friends and acquaintances. It just never seemed to be enough.
Then I recognized in a moment of reflection that I was doing exactly the same thing. No matter how much I achieved it never seemed to be enough. So I began to study and research the issue with the goal of redefining the way I look at success.
Why Is This Important?
I redefined success in a way that means a lot to me and that I have been using for five years now. Success for me is the extent to which I utilize my unique abilities, build and strengthen meaningful relationships and enjoy the journey.
What makes me unique and different—my own special version of me? Am I building relationships with the people that are the most important to me? Finally, am I truly enjoying the journey?
What I have found is that once a person’s paradigm of success changes—because no matter what people tell you, everyone’s paradigm of success is about acquisition—when I tweaked the paradigm and pointed them in a different direction, they were able to take a deep breath and begin looking at their lives quite differently. And they were able to achieve far greater satisfaction and peace of mind.
What Are the Key Lessons Learned Here?
1. Every human being is endowed with a set of very unique characteristics and until we find out what those are and attach our lives in a meaningful way to them, we are going to struggle to really feel good about ourselves.
2. Life is only about relationships. As long as you have strong, healthy relationships with the people in your life that matter the most to you, you can weather virtually any storm that comes your way. If you don’t have those relationships, success is virtually irrelevant.
3. The next lesson answers the question: How do you enjoy the journey? There are three aspects to this. The first is to live in the moment, which in today’s world is increasingly difficult. The second is to live in gratitude. The third is to give generously.
Books on The Topic
The Overachiever’s Dilemma, by C.J. McClanahan
Connecting With C.J. McClanahan
Website: http://www.cjmcclanahan.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/cj.mcclanahan
Twitter: twitter.com/cjmccoach
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/cjmcclanahan/
Free Gift
For the first 5 people who contact C.J. and mention the Discover Your Talent Podcast, he will send you a signed copy of his newest book to you at no charge.
