More than 2,000 women say it's amazing, inspiring—and a little bit complicated.
Everywhere you look these days, someone's talking about "success"—blogging about it, giving a TED talk about it, going to a conference on the topic. But what is it? When you think of success, what do you picture? And how close do you feel you are to it in your own life? Glamour surveyed 2,028 women—and you had plenty to say.
First things first: You want to get ahead.
64% of women we surveyed say it is "very" or "extremely" important to them to be successful.
33% say it's "somewhat" important.
3% say it's not important at all.
And you're pretty confident you'll reach your goals.
40% of women say they already feel successful.
42% think they will be successful one day.
Only 5% think they won't ever reach their goals.
But success isn't just about money. In fact, among women who already feel successful:
76% say they're a success because they're "confident in who I am."
65% say it's because they "have great friends."
62% say it's because they're "happy with my romantic partner."
Only 20% say it's because they're "making a lot of money for my age"; that answer came in 16th on their overall list of priorities.
The role model you most look up to? Mom. When choosing which woman embodies success:
26% say Hillary Clinton.
15% say Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg.
5% say Beyoncé.
But 32%—the highest percentage of all—say it's their mom.
Still, you feel, well, stressed about success...
64% of women say they feel pressure to make something of themselves. (A full 78 percent of women under 30 feel that way.)
26% of women worry they aren't doing enough to get ahead.
...and sometimes success doesn't look like very much fun.
