Each of us has a past. We have regrets. We’ve said or done things to ourselves or others that we wish we hadn’t. The people who know you best may forget those things, or dismiss them. But you’re more likely to internalize them and not let them go. I was guilty of that. And then I forgave myself for the person I had been, the one who ate all the junk food, who made mistakes in those old relationships, who argued with my dad and who didn’t fully appreciate the opportunity at hand. In time I came to love the person I was in the present, and I grew intensely excited about the person I knew I could become.

I’m not rich by any means. I don’t have the physique of a body builder. I don’t wear the smile of a cheerleader all the time. I can’t predict what my life will look like on April 1, 2058. But I’m proud of who I am today, because I know where I’ve been, and I know that I can improve even further. I’ve accepted the fact that I am a work in progress, and am willing to put in that work. There are people who are wealthier, better looking, happier and who contribute more to society. But no one can tell me I’m not a success right now. I feel successful.

The legendary basketball coach John Wooden, who spent more years studying success than I have spent on this planet, eventually came to define it this way: “Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.” That, succinctly, is how I feel today. My goal is to feel the same way next week, or next year, or in 2058, or when I lay on my deathbed.

What is your goal? Maybe it’s a nice, round net worth figure. Or it’s celebrating a 75th wedding anniversary with your spouse. Perhaps it’s the number of mourners who will be at your funeral, because you positively touched so many lives. Whatever your goal is, imagine the process and the person who will complete it. Put the past aside, and step into that process. Step into the shoes of that person. Work it. Live it. Love it.

That is success.