The Successful Woman

"Lady in Hat" by Andre Kohn

19 Things That Mean 'Success' For Women
The Huffington Post  |  By Emma Gray
Posted: 07/03/2013 10:36 am EDT

"We've all bought into this male definition of success, money and power, and it's not working," Arianna Huffington said on the "Today" show in June. "It's not working for men, and it's not working for women. It's not working for anyone."

If the traditional modes of measuring success are leaving us overworked, stressed out and generally unhappy, what are we supposed to do? Redefine what it means to be successful. Recent research has shown that Millennial women already feel more empowered to demand certain flexibility in their workplaces, not wanting to sacrifice overall well-being purely to climb the corporate ladder.

We decided to ask our Facebook and Twitter communities what success means to them. Turns out, women are broadening the definition of what it means to be powerful and what it means to achieve great things in the world. We are collectively learning, as Valerie Jarrett said at The Huffington Post's recent Third Metric conference: "You can have it all, but you can't have it all at the same time."

Here are 19 things that mean success, according to HuffPost readers:

1. Doing something impactful and loving every minute of it.

2. Finding the good in life's imperfections.

3. Realizing that your contribution to the world is valued, if not by others, by you.

4. Making a difference by teaching others to achieve success.

5. Living and loving fully, without shame and without apology.

6. Promoting a just cause, such as the fight against ethnic profiling.

7. Going to the beach every day!

8. Making your family happy.

9. Playing an active role in achieving gender equality.

10. Having the ability to control your own schedule.

11. Being healthy -- and having a job that helps other women do the same.

12. Having the strength to try, try again -- even when you fall flat on your face.

13. Being proud of yourself.

14. Doing your best and being grateful for everything good in your life.

15. Finding a healthy balance between a loving home and a career you enjoy.

16. Having people in your life who can always make you smile.

17. Loving what you get to do for a living.

18. Knowing that your daughter will be able to stand up for what's right and is not afraid to be herself around others.

19. Learning to be in the moment instead of constantly going, going, going.