How To Succeed When You Already Have

Success does not end when we reach a goal. As life changes, our idea of success changes with it. Byron Pulsifer reminds us that true success involves more than accomplishments, possessions, or career achievements. It also means learning from experience, keeping our priorities in perspective, and continuing to grow. This positive thought encourages us to consider what success means at each stage of life and how the lessons we have already learned can help us move forward.

Updated October 6, 2026, by Catherine Pulsifer.

How To Succeed When You Already Have

Author: Byron Pulsifer, © 2005

Success. A word filled with varied meanings including desires, challenges, and failure.

To each person, success may be defined differently depending on where they are in time.

Success Is Not Static

What this means is that "success" isn't a point in time that remains static. There are not only different types of success, there are many different levels of success.

The definition of "success" may mean one thing when you're just about to enter college or university, where success may be seen as graduation day, but will probably mean something else after you have acquired your first job.

Different Aspects Of Life

The term "success" can be applied to many different aspects of life including:

• Career
• Personal relationships
• Lifestyle
• Health
• Possessions
• Entrepreneurship
• Education

Each one of these aspects may come into play at differing points in your life, and some will come into play at the same time.

The essential point here is that while you may have attained what you thought of as "success" in one aspect of your life, you may see yourself as less than successful in some other aspect of life.

For example, let's say that you have worked extremely long and hard to climb the corporate ladder, or long and hard to attain an advanced educational degree. Your definition of "success" in this aspect of life may be checked off as accomplished, but on the other hand, this level of success has taken a toll on your health. Are you successful now?

Let's also say that your career success has been at the expense of a meaningful family relationship, be it personal issues with your spouse or the nagging feeling of inadequacy about spending enough quality time with your children. Are you successful now?

So What Does It All Mean?

So what are we really saying? Success is a balance of life where we can meet our own expectations while at the same time achieving success in our commitments to others.

Success is also a non-static term that means we strive for achievement in different ways at different points in our lives.

For example, some of us have been very successful financially in business, and the next level of success is to move beyond our own interests to that of helping others. This helping can take the form of charitable gifts, volunteering our expertise to assist service clubs, or it may mean mentoring young hopefuls from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Part of succeeding when you already have is to acknowledge that, as human beings, we are capable of constantly striving to keep moving forward, not necessarily, however, in the same direction nor in the same way.

Learning The Lessons Of Success

Succeeding when you already have means that we can continue to succeed because we are used to succeeding. We have learned the lessons of success well. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "Life is a succession of lessons, which must be lived to be understood."

Setting goals, taking one step at a time, continuous learning, never giving up, learning to use failures as our best teachers for future success, and always being in touch with what is important to us are lessons that can help us continue moving forward.

Conclusion

Success is not simply about reaching one goal and deciding that we have arrived. Life continues to change, and so do the things that matter most to us. What once meant success may eventually give way to new priorities involving family, health, relationships, service, or personal growth.

The important thing is to carry forward what experience has taught us. We can learn from our achievements as well as our failures, set new goals, and use what we have gained to help others along the way. When we see success as an ongoing journey rather than a final destination, there will always be another opportunity to learn, grow, and make a difference.

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