Lately, I have been having a really difficult time defining success.

My own success. The success of others.

What is the definition of success?

For instance, Frank Sinatra made 1,200 songs with 209 hits – a 17% success rate.

Babe Ruth had 8,399 at-bats and hit 714 home runs. But that’s only an 8.5% success rate.

Pablo Picasso created 150,000 pieces of art in his lifetime with 1,170 hits – 0.7% success rate.

Yet many consider these three the best to ever do it!

In baseball, if you succeed just 30% of the time in your career, you go to the Hall of Fame!

So, what does success genuinely mean for me?

I think success is knowing that whatever you do, you gave it your all.

Family, friends, business. You simply left it all out on the field.

With family, it’s about making sure they know you are always there for them and have their back.

With friends, it’s having real, meaningful conversations and going “deep.” Making sure each of us gets what we need from the relationship. (And if not, closing the circle to represent those that meet your needs.)

In business…this has been a tough one for me to define. After all, there are so many metrics and factors to consider.

But I guess at the end of the day, it’s just knowing that I did my best and tried to do my best for all those around me.

It’s impossible (and of no value) to compare one person to another; all of us have had different roads to get to where we are today.

So, I guess the definition of success for me is knowing that the road you took is the one right for you and the one you wanted to take.

-J.D.