How do you define success? Or, do you determine it?

[Hector Chavez]

I am interested examining the preferences of people. I'm interested in the preferences of all people, and not just people who are already successful as opposed to those who are striving to be successful. 

I would like to know how you determine success? That is, how do you know if you are being successful, or not?  Or, how will you know if you have "arrived?"  

We all want to achieve a certain measure of success. Why not?  Some of us equate success as intrinsic for survival, whether that success if found at home with family, or away from home at work - at the job. Ron Cordes, founder of the Cordes Foundation, has defined success as " . . . fully live your purpose in life, and to leave an enduring legacy of having made a difference in the world."  What do you think of that definition?

Winston Churchill said that success was going from "failure to failure without losing enthusiasm." Perhaps he was aiming at optimism, or something deeper inside us.

A soldier I met while in Afghanistan cut right to the chase. For him, success was returning "home alive."

Richard Branson said about success “It is the satisfaction of doing it for yourself and motivating others to work with you in bringing it about. It is about the fun, innovation, creativity with the rewards being far greater than purely financial.”

You’ve been involved with real estate investments for some time, even if you’ve not closed your first deal yet. How do you define success? Or, have you determined it?  Either way, how will you know when you've "arrived?"