Why Successful People Are Still Unhappy You mustn't fool yourself into believing that when you make your dreams a reality, you've now escaped your nightmares.

People are always chasing. Chasing dreams, chasing success, chasing fame — and of course, chasing money.

We chase these things because we believe they will make us happy and give us a better life. And to a certain extent, it's true — these things fulfill certain needs. The problem is that we usually take it too far or forget what we should focus on. Most of us still grind our lives away in hopes of adding more commas to our bank accounts.

But what happens after you achieve these things? When you become rich and successful, but then you realize you are still not happy?

Many people tie money and success together, and that's when you can start to have issues. So, wherever you are in your life, it's good to understand why financial wins and personal happiness don't necessarily go hand-in-hand, and what changes you can make now to define success on your own terms.

What I've learned from unhappy, successful people

I have met many rich and successful people who are unhappy. They can be miserable to deal with, treat people poorly, have a chip on their shoulder, and are not good to those they claim to love. We've seen plenty of examples in the press about successful people who lose control or self-destruct, and we've seen and heard about so many others achieving great financial success only to lose it all.

Is it because they can't handle the success or don't know how to manage their money? No, it's something else entirely. It's because they drove a broken car to the race track.

Any smart racer knows they must tend to the car's issues before entering a race. If they do not, they risk getting into an accident, losing the race or breaking down.

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Unhappy successful people don't (or won't) recognize and acknowledge that they have internal issues to deal with. Or, if they do comprehend that they have things that they need help with, they use these issues as excuses for why they act the way they do. They start to chase goals and dreams in building something that will validate or make them feel worthy of being included, valued, respected and appreciated.

But most people don't realize that while they think they are running after something, they are actually running from something. It could be childhood trauma, insecurity, being broke, feeling unloved, etc. People chase after things that they believe will help them be successful, which they equate to being happier. But by not handling the root issues, they come to realize that when they finally arrive at their goals, they didn't run from or escape any past trauma, hurt or pain….. they ran with them.

So, if money is an important goal for you, take a step back and ask why. Make sure you aren't coping or covering something up. Otherwise, you will have wasted a lot of time and found the type of success that will leave you with a void.

What I've learned from happy, successful people

In contrast, many people are not rich and don't have a lot of money but are very happy with their lives. It's not because they are less ambitious or don't want financial freedom. It's because they are secure in themselves and have chased goals that are more well-rounded.

It's also because they have learned how to deal with the issues in their life accordingly. This is the secret. They put in a lot of work to undo and understand their past pains and insecurities.

We're all familiar with the term: no pain, no gain. We typically associate this with working out in the gym. It's a way to convince ourselves to work through the pain of overworking our muscles so that we can enjoy the better body that we'll presumably gain on the other side. We are willing to endure this pain to relish in the gain of what the pain will result in.

This same theory applies to your life. We treat the pain of our past as a burden or some kind of obstacle preventing us from thriving and being happy. But if you adjust how you look at this pain, you will realize that the events or moments you define as hurt, trauma or painful are really experiences and perspectives that are unique to you. These give you incredible abilities that can supply you with amazing insight that will enable you to navigate the world and define a more healthy definition of success.

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It will provide you with empathy and compassion. It will make you a better communicator and listener. It will allow you to relate to and appreciate others. When you can understand and practice this, it will bring clarity that will allow you to dominate a life of happiness. A life in which, when you achieve the success you desire, nothing, not even losses or problems, can diminish the happy life you've built.

Yes, you will have bad days and moments that don't make you happy, but the core of you is happy, and that's what matters. This can only be accomplished by recognizing, dealing with and letting go of whatever makes you unhappy.

Stop looking for answers to questions that you will probably never get to feel whole. The only question that needs to be answered is how you will live a happy life. When you do this, you are no longer doing things to try and build happiness. You are now happily building things — which includes your business, family and life.

Your friend,

Clinton.