Categories: Articles

Your Personal Search For Success

It’s funny, so many people have asked me lately what it’s like to be a success.

There are moments when I feel very successful. There are moments when I feel like I am just getting started. Yes, I understand why I am getting that question more and more these days (and, if you’re unsure, this might fill you in: Exciting News About Twist Image… And The Future). The truth is that being acquired by WPP has been the culmination of over a decade of work at Twist Image (and many years of build-up to that). And, as nice as it is, I don’t define success as a moment in time when something like this happens. My definition of success, is not your definition of success.

Success is a weird topic to discuss, right?

More often than not, when we start a conversation about success, we start thinking about life coaches and other more metaphysical journeys of education. What if I told you that there is a professor at one of the world’s top business schools in the world that can – in a very powerful and pragmatic way – help you define success for yourself? And, that’s an important distinction. Most people have a generalized definition of success, but they are completely lacking in terms of their own, personal definition of it. Most people don’t even know their strengths and weaknesses in conjunction with that framework for success. Some people accomplish some very important things in life, and it can feel quite hollow once it happens (a sure sign that you have not honed in on your own definition of success). Professor G. Richard Shell is a professor at The Wharton School and he wrote a book titled, Springboard – Launching Your Personal Search for Success. He recently presented his thinking at Google, and the full forty-five minute presentation is right here and ready for you.

A little warning:

The questions and his thinking will be hard to swallow for some. He delivers his message in a very clear way, and that can be a little off-putting to some (especially those who may be caught in their own ways). Don’t diminish the power of the question: "What’s next?" And no, this content isn’t New Age-y at all. I was riveted by his presentation, and it’s helping me to better define/adjust success for myself and in my life. I’m pretty sure it will do the same for you.

What’s next? How about this…

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.