Don’t let others define your life. Let me explain. When most people say, “I want to be successful”, that can mean different things. “Success” is subjective and can be defined in many different ways. You need to decide how you will define words in your life.
When I was a missionary in Thailand, one day we stopped for lunch at a small street stall restaurant. Because I was already sweaty from the hot weather, I ordered my food and told them I did not want it spicy, so I could avoid sweating while eating. I received my food and immediately knew it looked and smelled spicy. I was barely able to finish my lunch and was wondering why they made it so spicy. Spicy for most local Thais is death for most non-Thais. So not spicy for Thais is still spicy for most other people. I should have defined to them what not spicy meant, but didn’t and suffered with every bite.
The world has its own set of definitions for everything and those will be imposed on you unless you thoughtfully come up with your own.
Gradual Ascent 