Who do you think of when you hear the…
Who do you think of when you hear the word successful? Be clear that your ladder is leaning against the right building.
— from Goals, Action & Defining Success (Goal/Action/Success/Motivation)
In the book
"Before you climb, be sure your ladder is leaning against the right building." (Sample epigraph — replace with one of your own, or with a line of mine you remember me saying.) A decision, we said, is only a starting gun. […] Here is the trap that catches almost everyone, and it is the most important thing in this chapter. People spend their whole lives climbing a ladder with enormous effort — and never stop to check that the ladder is leaning against the right building. They chase a success they never actually chose, inherited from their parents or their neighbors or the noise of the world, and arrive at the top to find it was someone else's summit, not theirs. […] So here is how to fly the mission once the decision is made. Define success for yourself first. Make sure your ladder leans against the right building, live by the inner scorecard rather than the outer, and remember it is a journey, not a destination. Pick the right stadiums. Choose which arenas matter to you and don't measure yourself against people excellent at what you don't value. — Goals, Action & Defining Success (Goal/Action/Success/Motivation)