Simon Sinek: Success is a feeling, not an accomplishment

Larry King: So how do you define success?

Simon Sinek: I think success is seeing those around you work to their natural best and creating momentum for a vision, towards a vision, that will last beyond yourself.

Larry King: So a guy is driving a bus for 20 years, about to retire, he’s on Madison Avenue in New York, packed every day with people getting on that bus and getting off. His two kids, wife, lives in Queens. He might call himself successful. Another guy, might be vice president of that company, would call himself unsuccessful. So is success what you make of it?

Simon Sinek: Success is a feeling, it’s not a series of checkmarks and goals. I think people define success as finish lines, “Well I ran a marathon, I’m successful.” The question is a. why did you run the marathon, and what happens after you’ve completed the marathon? Do you just keep running marathons? What happens if you break your leg and you can no longer run marathons? A lot of people set financial goals, “I’m successful when I make my first million. Ah, okay, now I have to make my second million.” Success is a feeling, and it’s the feeling of contribution. So your bus driver in Queens, if he has decided that his job as a bus driver is to ensure that everyone who gets on his bus feels better about themselves because they got on his bus and not another bus, and so he greets them with a smile, he says “Good morning,” he says “Goodbye,” then people will remember that ride they took with him. Versus this vice-president of the company who’s made it about himself and his financial goals, he’s the one who’s unhappy. As opposed to seeing those around him succeed, and those around him go home with a love of their day, because they come to work in his company every day. So I still believe success and good leadership are about service to others.

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