By James Chase

No matter what situation we find ourselves in, I believe that within each of us is the challenge to succeed.

For me, that journey started as the oldest of nine children. With a family that size, there weren’t a lot of extras—but I never felt like I lacked anything. We were poor by the world’s standards, but we were rich in other ways. And that environment gave me something I didn’t recognize until later: fertile ground for desire to take root and grow.

The problem was figuring out what that desire was. What did I want to be when I grew up? Now, as a college professor, I see so many of my students wrestling with the same question: What is my desire?

All I knew back then was that I wanted to be successful. I figured success would mean having the money I wanted—but I had no idea how to get there. People told me, “Get your degree and you’ll be successful.” So I did. I graduated high school, went to college, earned two degrees… and I still wasn’t successful. I tried multiple MLMs—still no real financial success. I even started a couple of businesses, but in the end, they barely helped me scrape by.

What I hadn’t done was define what success actually meant to me.

At the time, I thought success just meant making money—and having a job to make that money. But the jobs I had weren’t ones I wanted. I didn’t feel fulfilled. I was just doing what I had to do. I was married with three kids, trying to keep everything afloat. After my first marriage ended, the cycle only intensified—working just to pay bills, now with child support added to the mix.

And then something shifted.

Just over ten years ago, I found my desire.

I realized that I wanted to teach. That no matter how much—or how little—I was making, I loved teaching. And once I found that desire, others followed. I wanted to write. So I started writing. I discovered a desire to speak in public. I began teaching public speaking in the college classroom. And slowly, things began to change.

Looking back, I realized that desire had been there all along. As a kid, I loved speaking and teaching. But after being teased mercilessly by classmates, that love turned into a fear of public speaking. Still, throughout college, I had opportunities to speak in class, and little by little, that spark reignited. Eventually, my passion for teaching and speaking came back to life.

Ten years ago, a friend of mine was in college when his teacher unexpectedly didn’t return. They needed a replacement. The subject? Computers—something I’d always loved. Because I had a master’s degree, I was able to step in. I taught computers for two years before being asked to teach communication classes at our local community college. One of those classes was public speaking—and to my surprise, I not only enjoyed it, I excelled at it. I even wrote an entry-level public speaking book for people who struggle the same way I once did.

Since then, I’ve expanded beyond public speaking to include interpersonal communication—helping people learn how to truly connect and communicate with one another. And now, it’s leading me to the next phase of my work: becoming a public speaking and life coach.

The key to all of it? Purpose. The desire to do something that matters—something that will make the world just a little bit better.

My initial definition of success was all about the money. But if we limit success to money, we’re only limiting ourselves. True success comes from growth in five key areas: our financial lives, our relationships, our health and fitness, our personal and professional development, and our spiritual lives. We don’t need perfect balance—but we do need harmony among these areas. And finding that harmony? That’s the real challenge to success.