By James Castellano

Success comes in many forms. At times it presents itself as a neatly disguised problem. At times, it can be quite elusive, similar to grabbing a handful of air. And still at other times, success can be grasped and held onto easily. While it is difficult to pin one meaning on a word with such a diverse application, we must take the time to figure out how we spell success in our own life.

Success is a personal endeavor. What is success? Where does it reside? How can it be flushed out from its hiding spot? These are foundational questions we need to answer. Each of us must develop our own definition if we are to reach the pinnacle of our life - aka success. The most common definition of success I find is: the favorable outcome of something attempted.

Based on the above definition, success can be anything we attempt to accomplish provided we arrive at a favorable outcome. It does not mean getting rich, or having fancy homes and cars, although this is how many perceive success. The reason we see tangible items as reaching our pinnacle is because we have not yet spelled what success means for ourselves.

The definition shown earlier generates confusion because of the word favorable. Must we actually accomplish a task in a favorable manner to be successful? Or is success achieved from the attempt? The technical antonym of success is failure. But do we really fail when we don't achieve a desired result? Or is the failure represented by an act of quitting before we achieve our goal?

I made the mistake of chasing what looked like success only to be frustrated and disillusioned. Success was actually a moving target. I never achieved it because I never defined it. There was always more to gain. There was always one more rung of the ladder to climb. This is a slippery slope, which normally ends up in a disaster. Success in reality is who we become, not what we accumulate.

I developed an acronym for success to as I spell it.

S = Selfless. Always help others first.

U = Unconquerable. You have to weather the storms.

C = Compassionate. Must care sincerely about others.

C = Creative. See things as they could be, not as there are.

E = Effective. Shoot for effectiveness, not efficiency with your time.

S = Self-Motivated. You have to know what makes you tick.

S = Sensible. You can’t take stupid risks.

1 Tim. 6:17 (MSG) says, "tell those rich in this world's wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money...If they do that, they'll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life."

My belief is we’ll eliminate the confusion by defining our vision of success and setting the proper goals to help us get there. Once we complete these two steps, we develop and implement our daily action plan. The plan details the activities we must do each day including prayer and guidance. Goals without a plan are seldom achieved.

The path to success becomes clear when we know where we are headed. Although, we may not reach the pinnacle each time, we'll be in a far better position than before.

Isn't that the best way to spell success?

James authors the popular leadership blog, Leading The Way. You can participate in the daily discussions by visiting www.validleadership.com. He founded the concept of VALID Leadership and has published numerous Christian and secular articles.