There are many ways to measure success. Businesses look to their finances and profits, nonprofits look to their relationships and societal impact, and environmentalists look to their ecological footprint. But a deeper look reveals something much more soft to measure. In our hybridized world, a singular and narrow bottom line is no longer enough. Customers now look to their business partners to have a positive social and environmental impact, and donors and foundations want to ensure their dollars are well spent with fiscally-responsible nonprofits. We want to feel good and clean about the consumer choices we make. That’s why we’re seeing a growth in new forms of business like B-Corporations and Social Entrepreneurships. The main thing we’re looking for are socially, fiscally, and environmentally responsible relationships. We want to consume, partner, and act in integrity. Not only for ourselves, but for the sustainability of our collective future. Here, 3 ways to expand your bottom line and redefine success.
Abundance – not just monetary value, but happiness value and health value. Do you feel abundant in your work life? Are you able to know the point of enough? Do you offer yourself kindness? Consider your own relationship with abundance: what does enough look like?
Love – do your relationships (work and life) nurture and nourish and energize you, or do you feel drained by toxic interactions? Are you able to speak your truth, even if it is different than the norm? Are your relationships mutually beneficial, or one-sided? Consider who you want to see everyday and who you like to work with. Consider work that complements your personal values and morals.
Harmony – do your actions and practices add to the well-being of the earth, or take away from it? are you able to feel a sense of inner harmony? Consider how you want to be in relationship with the earth. Are you leaving behind a legacy of health and potential happiness for your children?
We can often measure hard numbers like money, clients, and carbon footprints, but this is more about an inner feeling of success that is not readily defined by common culture. And really, what is more important than feeling a sense of inner fulfilment? Relationship is all there is, and there is nothing more fulfilling that a healthy inner, inter, and global relationships.
