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Personal success - the impact people have on others

In this article, Derek Stockley details three conversations that highlight a concept of personal success.

What is personal success? How do you measure success? In your daily activities, what factors do you personally consider as important?

The setting

On one day last week, I had three separate conversations that each in their own way clarified the concept of personal success for me.

The conversations were with:

• A nurse talking about the successful treatment of a patient
  
  
• A youth group leader
  
  
• A person who had witnessed a number of training sessions I had conducted, but remembered one in particular.
  
  

The nurse - treating a patient successfully

I have known the nurse for some time. She described a common occurrence for people in the helping professions. Often they do not know the long term outcome of patients they have treated.

When discussing possible outcomes of a medical procedure, the nurse related a story about a former patient. The story was told to allay fears about a serious operation.

The way the nurse related the story had a deeper meaning for me.

Recently, a former patient had gone out of his way to come up and personally thank her for the help she had provided some years ago. After a long and complicated treatment, the patient was now enjoying an active and contented life.

As she told the story, the personal satisfaction gained from the incident was obvious. She was genuinely pleased that the patient had finally found resolution.

She knows that she helps people every day. Often, she prevents serious complications, but it was nice to get some personal feedback.

The youth leader

I recently had contact with a man who had been the main leader of a youth group that I belonged to from the age of nine right through to early adulthood.

His approach and example had a major impact on me. He inspired me to pursue leadership roles within the organisation.

Many years after our youth club association had finished, my respect was so great that I thought of him when my family recently needed help.

Our conversations last week confirmed his position. I know he has been a guide and inspiration to many people. Yet he has quietly and modestly gone through life.

Leadership training story

For many years, a result of my youth leadership work and my involvement in the Jaycees, I conducted a training session for Venturer Scouts completing the leadership training required to obtain the Queen Scout Award.

It has been some years since I was involved. At a time of personal sadness, it was nice to get some personal feedback.

The conversation started, and then the former scout leader said: "You know, I often quote you. Remember when .....".

She had remembered a particular training session where I had said the right thing at the right time. It had helped some participants from a particular social background get a better understanding of the real world.

I use stories drawn from my personal experiences in my training programs.

This particular one concerned the difference I noted in applicants who were applying for customer service positions. Talking about the difficulty of choosing between many candidates applying for a small number of vacancies, I commented on a particular question used in the interview process.

The question was something like:

"What does customer service mean to you?"

The positions were entry level positions - for people starting full-time work after finishing school.

I told the Venturers that I had noticed the difference between applicants who had worked for McDonalds in comparison to other fast food outlets and other part-time and vacation employment. The McDonalds training system had worked. Their staff had a very good understanding of customer service and were able to articulate it at the interview.

This was one of many examples I used on the day. But it happened to "hit the spot". Obviously it had a long term impact, to be remembered all these years later.

Summary and conclusion

This has been a longer, more personal article than usual.

It reflects my thinking about the events occurring in my life at the current time.

An email invitation I received yesterday highlighted to me the relevance of this article’s theme.

It was from an internet marketing guru promoting a personal coaching program. The program promised personal help to start and grow a successful internet business achieving million dollar plus sales. In promoting the program, the writer seemed to emphasise personal wealth as the critical measure of success (big house, overseas holidays, sports cars).

To my mind, some important benefits were missing, including the promotion of the satisfaction gained from the successful growth and management of a business and the impact that business has.

What is personal success? How do you measure success? What factors do you personally consider as important in your daily activities?

When I am gone, I hope I am remembered for the positive difference I have made to my family, the people I have come into contact with, and the individuals and organisations that I have worked with.

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This page was last modified on 10 March 2005.