In this solo vlog, SaaS District host Akeel Jabbar challenges the common equation of success with money and instead outlines three core elements that he believes define true success: (1) freedom of time – having control over one’s schedule rather than being bound to a 9‑to‑5 grind; (2) quality time with family and friends – the ability to share life with loved ones, which money cannot buy; and (3) meaningful, passion‑driven work – doing something you love that gives purpose beyond a paycheck. He illustrates his points with a personal anecdote about a previous engineering job where he earned a high income, owned a BMW and a large home, yet felt miserable because he lacked freedom and fulfillment. Throughout, he repeatedly asks whether money can solve each of these issues, concluding it cannot. The video ends with a call‑to‑action, asking viewers to comment on their own definitions of success.
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When you think of the word success, what is the first word that comes to mind? You probably think of the word money, finances, growth of income, right? Those are probably words that you think of. And I'm going to tell you today that the real meaning of success means nothing to do with that. And I'll show you why. I started asking this question to all my CEOs that I interview on my SaaS District podcast, and I started seeing a repeated trend. They made a lot of money in their careers and their entrepreneurial journeys, But they kept getting the same pattern. And this is what I realized myself as well, of what real success means to you. My name is Akeel Jabbar. Welcome back to another video of SaaS District. And today I'm going to talk to you about my opinion and the opinions that I've heard from many others and what the real meaning of success is. So the first thing that I want to share with you guys is success is what freedom gives you. Okay, it's your freedom from your time because time is the real value and that's all you have limitation on in this world. Now many of you may be in a 9-to-5 job, okay, where you have long commutes every single day where you have to go to work and come back. Okay, I know I've been there. Okay, I used to be an engineer and I used to go to my job. I was making great money. You know, I was just driving a BMW. I had a 2,000 square foot home. I was living the American dream as you can call it. But one thing it was, was that I was miserable. Okay, on the surface it looked like I was successful. It looked like I was happy. But what was really missing was the freedom. Okay? To anybody else, you know, if you looked at me from the outside, I had absolute success, but that's not what I had internally. Internally, I just didn't feel it. It just didn't feel right. Okay. And that's where I started learning about that the real meaning of success came with the freedom of my time, being able to work on what I wanted whenever I wanted to. So that's point number one. That's the question there. Did money solve that problem at the time? Was I successful really at that time? I had all the money that I needed. I could buy whatever I want and I own everything that I asked for. But at the end of the day, that money didn't solve my feeling of success. Okay, so that's number 1, freedom of your time. Number 2. So the second thing that I, that I tie back to being successful is how much time— I literally track this— how much time do I spend with friends and family, with people that I love? Okay, people that I really care for. Okay, so if you're working every single day, you're grinding it out and you don't have that time to share it with people that actually care about you or you care, which is your friends, your families, your acquaintances, people you really care about, what's the point? You call that successful? And back to that same question, will money solve that? If you don't have that time to give to other people, to share what you've worked so hard to accomplish and build with other people that you love, Is that really successful? Okay, so that's another question I want you guys to think about. Did money solve that problem of being able to spend time? If you have kids, if you have, you know, loved ones that you want to spend time with, if you just gave them money, do you think they'll be happy and it'll build a really deep, meaningful relationship— relationships with them? Most likely not. Okay, so that's another question to think about when you're thinking about success. The third point I want to make is Your work. The people that I spoke to and what I what I would say for myself is working on something that's meaningful. Okay, some people may call that passion, but having a love for your work means a lot. Okay, that gives you meaning in life. People think that you know you must be working on something that that's making you the most money, but I guarantee you'll feel a lot more successful and better about your life and see better results if you're. You're working on something you really care about. You wake up every morning, you're excited, you love your job, you love your work, and you're coming in there knowing you're making a difference. That is the true meaning of success in my opinion. Okay, so back to the same question I kept asking for the other 2 points. Will money solve that problem? Okay, if you're going to a job where you're making a lot of money, but you're not enjoying it, you don't have the passion for what you're doing every single day. Does that mean success? That's something for you guys to think about. All right guys, so I hope this video was helpful. Those are 3 things that I found repeatedly. If you guys focus on getting back your time, working on something you love, and spending more time with friends and family, I guarantee you'll feel a lot more successful in life than the amount of money in your bank account. So question to you guys, do you guys agree with me? What does success mean to you? I want to hear from you guys. Comment below. In the comments, I want to hear what does success mean to you today and if you agree with my points. All right, thanks for watching, guys. See you guys on the next video.
