Success isn’t just about ticking off big goals like earning more money or climbing the career ladder.
It’s also about how you feel day to day. Your energy levels, your relationships, your peace of mind.
Over time, I’ve realised there are ten different areas that help us feel genuinely fulfilled: Inner, Physical, Family, Career/Business, Financial/Material, Impact, Mental, Emotional, Spiritual, and Social.
Let’s take a closer look at each one
1. Inner success
Most life coaches will tell you inner success is about finding meaning and purpose.
That it comes from having strong values and nurturing good relationships.
But truly feeling inner success starts with being content in the here and now.
It’s about mindset.
Inner success isn’t about fixing what’s “wrong” with you. It’s not about waiting for everything to be perfect.
It’s about noticing what’s already good in your life and choosing to build from there.
Try this exercise to help build inner success
Ask yourself, what’s already working in my life?
Then find daily habits that keep you grounded and feeling good. Habits like mindset work, meditation, or moving your body. Stick with them.
Mastering the small stuff builds confidence, and that confidence gives you momentum for the big goals.
When you feel good, you appreciate the life you have, your days reflect who you are, and you have a sense of purpose. That’s inner success.
An example of the difference focusing on inner success can make
One client I worked with came to me feeling like nothing was going right. He told me everything was stacked against him, and that no matter what he tried, it just wasn’t working.
We started small.
I asked him to look for anything in his life that was okay. Just one thing that was going well. It took a minute, but soon he realised that he had a home, food, clothes. He had a job. He had friendships and things that brought him comfort.
Pretty quickly, his perspective started to shift.
Instead of focusing on everything that felt wrong, he saw how much was already good. And from there, he started making small, positive changes. Before long, life looked and felt a whole lot better.
2. Physical success
Your energy is everything. It fuels how you show up in your life, your work, and your relationships.
Things you can do to achieve physical success
Physical success isn’t about becoming a gym junkie. It’s about making your health a priority.
It’s about:
- Eating food that actually nourishes you.
- Moving in ways you enjoy - walking, dancing, swimming, yoga, lifting weights.
- Sleeping enough.
- Saying no to things that drain you unnecessarily.
- Letting yourself rest and reset when you need to.
You could add things like massages, saunas, or just curling up with a good book. It’s not indulgent. It’s essential.
The key to physical success is consistency.
When you care for your body and mind regularly, you create more energy, better focus, and a stronger sense of wellbeing.
And that spills into every part of your life.
3. Family success
Family is where our most personal connections live.
Family success isn’t about having the perfect household. It’s about being present and making time for the people who matter most.
Here’s what family success may look like:
- Set aside regular time to hang out. Meals, games, walks, holidays. Put the devices away and just be together.
- Make memories. Celebrate birthdays, create family traditions, join in on things your loved ones enjoy.
- Show appreciation. Notice what makes each family member unique and tell them they’re loved.
When your family life feels like a solid, safe place to land, it supports everything else you do.
4. Career/business success
What does success look like in your work or business?
For some, it’s promotions and pay rises. For others, it’s purpose, creativity, and impact.
Career success is about finding the right balance between growth and fulfilment.
Some examples of career or business success
- Moving forward in your field—promotion, more responsibility, bigger wins.
- Gaining valuable experience and skills that you actually enjoy using.
- Doing work that feels meaningful and rewarding.
- Maintaining boundaries so your work doesn’t take over your whole life.
How to find out what career success means for you.
Ask yourself:
- Am I learning skills I want to keep building?
- Do I feel good about the impact I make?
- Is my work-life balance sustainable?
Career success isn’t just about climbing the ladder, it’s about waking up excited for the day ahead.
Read more about how to find purpose in your career.
5. Financial/material success
Money matters.
So do the things it can buy. A home you love, experiences that bring joy, the freedom to choose how you live.
But financial success is more than wealth for wealth’s sake. It’s about security, flexibility, and peace of mind.
What financial success might look like in your life
- Paying off debt.
- Building savings.
- Investing in things that make your life better.
- Being able to give generously.
Sure, money can buy comfort. But lasting happiness, and success, comes from within.
That way, if your circumstances change, you don’t lose yourself with them.
Read more about habits and mindsets that drive you to achieve financial freedom.
6. Impact success: Making a difference
We all want to feel like we matter.
Impact success is about the legacy you create, through your actions, your contributions, your presence in the world.
You don’t need to start a movement. You can:
- Volunteer for a cause that matters to you.
- Use your skills to help others.
- Mentor someone who’s just starting out.
- Share your knowledge, create something meaningful, or solve a problem that helps others.
Think of impact as the ripple you leave behind.
You could write a book. Build something lasting. Lead with kindness.
Impact Success isn’t about what you achieve, it’s about who benefits because you were here.
7. Mental success: Expanding your knowledge
Mental success is about achieving mental and personal growth, curiosity, and adaptability.
Imagine mental success to be that sense of satisfaction when you’ve learned a new skill or solved a tricky problem.
This is what mental success might look like
- Reading, taking courses, or diving deep into a topic that fascinates you
- Becoming more analytical and thoughtful in your decision-making
- Getting creative and inventing, designing, or problem-solving
- Tackling challenges and feeling that spark of “I figured it out!”
You can’t achieve mental success if you stagnate. If you do the same, familiar things every day.
Mental success comes from regularly challenging your brain and staying open to learning. It helps you feel capable, confident, and switched-on.
I’d love to help you get started. To find out what success looks like for you.
Book a free discovery session and take the first step toward a life that truly fulfills you. Where you’re working towards success in each one of these 10 areas.
8. Emotional success
Emotional success is knowing how to navigate your feelings in a healthy way.
It’s not about never feeling angry, sad, or overwhelmed.
It’s about recognising those emotions and learning how to acknowledge the emotion for what it is, without judgement and responding appropriately instead of just blindly reacting.
Here are a few ways to build emotional success:
- Develop self-awareness. Journal, talk with someone you trust, or simply check in with yourself more often.
- Learn to identify your emotions and what causes them.
- Use tools like deep breathing, mindset shifts, and meditation to move toward better-feeling states.
- Practice self-compassion and let go of harsh inner criticism.
Emotional success is a lifelong journey.
But the more you understand and manage your emotions, the more calm, clarity, and connection you bring to every area of your life.
9. Spiritual success
Spiritual success is about feeling connected to yourself, to others, to something greater than your day-to-day routine.
You don’t need to be religious to be spiritual.
It’s about asking: what really matters to me?
Here’s what spiritual success might look like
- Spending time in nature.
- Meditating, praying, or simply being still.
- Exploring different belief systems or personal philosophies.
- Finding lessons in life’s hard moments.
- Practising gratitude.
- Listening to your intuition.
Spiritual success brings depth to life. It helps you find peace, purpose, and perspective, especially when things feel uncertain.
10. Social success
Humans are wired for connection.
Social success is about building strong, positive relationships at home, at work, and in your wider community.
You can build social success by:
- Nurturing close friendships and showing up for people.
- Putting yourself out there to meet new people, at events, classes, or through volunteering.
- Giving back to your community through causes that matter to you.
- Being kind and helpful, even in small ways.
- Creating supportive, inclusive environments wherever you go.
When you have people who care about you, and people you support in return, you feel more connected and alive.
Success is a journey, not a destination
After working with thousands of people over several decades, I’ve come to realise that, at the end of the day, success isn’t just about what you earn, own, or achieve.
It’s about how you feel. Who you become. The difference you make.
When you start looking at success through all these different lenses, you start to see where you’re thriving and where there’s room to grow.
It’s not about doing it all at once. It’s about gently adjusting, one area at a time, until life feels a little more fulfilling.
I’d love to help you get started. To find out what success looks like for you.
Book a free discovery session and take the first step toward a life that truly fulfills you. Where you’re working towards success in each one of these 10 areas.
