The oxford dictionaries define Success as “The accomplishment of an aim or purpose”

So, off the bat, one has to have an aim or a purpose; in other words: “A GOAL.”

The way I see it, hoping to be successful without having goals, is like hoping the win the lottery without buying any lottery tickets.

In my classes, I often put people on the spot and ask them “What is your goal(s)?”, and I rarely have people quickly share with me a goal that is present on their mind. Most of the time, they try to think of something on the spot and come up with generic answers such as: “My goal is to be happy”, or “To be the best I can be” … and sometimes they come up with nothing at all. On the other hand, our companies, and employers have very well defined objectives for us; individually and in teams.

And so, it is not surprising to see people achieving success at work and strongly contribute to the success of their companies and employers while they achieve little success in their personal life.