Do you have more than one pair of shoes?

Do you have more than one choice about what you’ll eat for each meal?

Do you have access to your own means of transportation?

Do you have more than one pair of underwear?

If you answered “yes” to three or more of these questions, then by the world’s standards, you’re affluent. Less than ten percent of everyone who has ever lived could do so at any one time in their lives.

When I was a teenager, we had a hired hand named Norris, who helped on the farm. He lived in a dirt shack. A couple of horses he rode with a binder-twine bridle and an old, rusty one-gear bike he used to get himself to work were pretty much everything he owned. He was likely one of the poorest men I’ve ever known. He was also one of the happiest people I’ve ever known.

Norris was my first exposure to what I now understand to be the difference between secondary success and primary success. Secondary success is external. It is defined by the accumulation of status, materialism, popularity, and achievements. Primary success is internal. It is built on character, contribution, and connections. To paraphrase American journalist and activist Dorothy Day, secondary success is being better off, while primary success is being better.

The endless pursuit of more has left us unhappier than ever. We have confused standard of living with quality of life. And through it all, haven’t moved the needle much on addiction, mental illness, child abuse, crime, or compassion. As a society, we have been successful at raising our standard of living, but as my mentor, Don Campbell, asked, “Has this made us a better society? Has it enriched our relationships with the people who matter in our lives? Has it built better families, communities, and workplaces?”

I propose a new goal, a goal based on primary success. When we focus on becoming better people instead of better-off people, our priorities, our lives, and our world will change. We can create a society with less indifference and more compassion. Less class distinction and more honest respect for each other. Less anxiety and more contentment.

1.Define a noble cause for yourself that makes the world better. When you’re committed to creating a better world, you have to be better to rise to the challenge. Declare independence from the approval of others, set high ethical standards, and devote your life to a cause. Don’t aim for success. Success will happen as the unintended consequence of your dedication to a cause beyond yourself.

2.Tame your ego. Stop worrying about whether you’re the most valuable player and start creating value for others. Pride hopes to impress; humility seeks to serve. Notice how the universe might be helping you topple your tower of self-importance right now.

3.Stay connected to life and the people in your life. We can only experience a sense of enough when we are fully present, grateful, and awake in the moment. This is where life is lived. The only moment we can feel and know with any clarity is the moment we’re experiencing right now.

4.Trust your inner compass and rely on your heart’s intuition. The voices of the world are loud. But when we get to the truth of who we are, we come closer to a more truthful life of sufficiency. This is what leads us to knowing the next right thing to do. Navigating leaders to their authentic and most reliable inner compass is central to my cause and the foundation of my life’s work.

5.Be content with what you have. Being content isn’t about complacency, apathy, or laziness. It doesn’t mean you don’t strive to be better. It means striving to be better because of your commitment to making the world better –– and staying grateful while you do. Contentedness comes from overflow, not from emptiness. It means living and leading better by living a life that’s enough.