To build the future you want, you first need a clear picture of what that future looks like. Chances are, it’s one filled with success. But this raises an important question: what exactly is success?

Success is something we hear about constantly. It’s seemingly everywhere—in newspapers, on sports fields, in boardrooms, and glossy magazines. It’s parked on your neighbour’s driveway and splashed across adverts featuring white sandy beaches. Sometimes it feels like success is everywhere except in your own life.

But is that really true? Is success genuinely absent from your life, or do you simply misunderstand what success actually looks like?

Here’s the thing: success is deeply personal. Like beauty, it exists in the eye of the beholder. No glossy magazine, television programme, holiday advert or even your neighbour can define what success should look like for you. That power belongs solely to you.

There is no universal definition of success. What represents the pinnacle of achievement for one person might mean absolutely nothing to another. Yet despite this truth, we’re constantly bombarded with messages trying to shape our vision of success—fancy houses, fast cars, designer watches, impressive wardrobes, stellar careers, and exotic holidays.

For some people, perhaps even you, success might include elements of this conventional picture. But it might also look entirely different.

If your personal definition of success doesn’t match what media and advertising suggest, then pursuing those conventional markers becomes pointless. Chasing a version of success that doesn’t align with your authentic values inevitably leads to an uncomfortable, unfulfilling life—merely an interpretation of the one you were meant to live.

But you weren’t born to live as an interpretation of you. You were born to live as you. You were meant to live your authentic life—the one designed specifically for you. To do this, you must understand what success truly looks like for you.

So how do you filter out external noise and focus on what genuinely matters?

Start by mentally stepping away from the world. Imagine no one can judge or influence you, and picture your perfect day—one where everything is exactly as it should be, where life simply couldn’t improve. What does that look like? How does it feel?

Consider these questions:

• How do you feel when you wake up?
• Which relationships matter most to you?
• Where are you living?
• What work fulfils you?
• How do you spend your free time?

This exercise is entirely personal. No one else should dictate what your perfect day includes.

Realistically, you will never experience every element of your ideal day within a single 24-hour period. But you can certainly get close. When you understand what truly matters, you can take deliberate steps toward making it happen—whether those elements appear across days, weeks, or years.

Compare this authentic picture of the life you actually want with the version of success you’ve been carrying around. Notice the differences? Take time to untangle messages that have influenced your actions, relationships, and self-perception. Replace them with a definition that genuinely resonates with you.

If you don’t know what success looks like for you specifically, you can never achieve it. Like any journey, you need to know your destination before setting out.

Remember that your definition may evolve. As priorities shift and life experience expands, what constitutes success might change too. Don’t define success once and blindly pursue it forever. Revisit and redefine it periodically, ensuring it always reflects who you are and aligns with who you want to become.

Once you’ve settled on your authentic picture of success, use it to imagine not just a single perfect day, but every day of your future. Only then will you begin building a future you truly want to live.