Do you want to be more successful? This course was designed to help you define what success means to you, and to develop a plan for achieving it. Wharton Professor G. Richard Shell, an award-winning author and the creator of the popular Wharton School course on the meaning of success, created this course to help you answer the questions that arise when you consider how best to use your life. Drawing on his decades of research and mentoring, Shell offers personalized assessments to help you probe your past, imagine your future, and measure your strengths. He then combines these with the latest scientific insights on everything from self-confidence and happiness to relationships and careers. Throughout, he shares inspiring examples of people who found what they were meant to do by embracing their own true measure of success. Get ready for the journey of a lifetime—one that will help you reevaluate your future and envision success on your own terms. Students and executives say that Richard Shell’s courses and executive training programs have changed their lives. Let this course change yours.
Success
This course is part of Achieving Personal and Professional Success Specialization
Instructor: Richard Shell
Top Instructor
67,093 already enrolled
Included with
(1,185 reviews)
Skills you'll gain
Details to know
Add to your LinkedIn profile
2 assignments
See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills
Build your subject-matter expertise
- Learn new concepts from industry experts
- Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
- Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
- Earn a shareable career certificate
Earn a career certificate
Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV
Share it on social media and in your performance review
There are 4 modules in this course
This module is designed to help you define success for yourself through exploring the hidden beliefs you hold about success. You'll learn the three truths of success, and the role of culture and family in defining success. You'll also participate in the "Six Lives" exercise, which will guide you to deeper questions of your beliefs about success, as well as how those beliefs compare to others. By the end of this module you'll be able to assess yourself, your values, and your images of what success means. As a result, you can begin to adapt the tools that will work for you to achieve whatever your definition of success is.
What's included
11 videos3 readings1 assignment1 discussion prompt
In this module, you'll learn how to think about success on your own terms. You'll explore ways of looking inside yourself, and into your past, to find the values and capabilities that you have determined for your personal success. You'll identify your "four diamonds" - the capabilities you have in your own heart and soul to develop the inner and outer success that will be most satisfying to you. You'll learn the two habits that successful people share, as well as the four different ways you can renew your success values. By the end of this module you'll have a deep understanding of what success is for you on your terms, and how to sustain and renew your beliefs in the face of challenges.
What's included
6 videos1 reading1 peer review1 discussion prompt
This module was created to give you an overview of the science of success so that you can use that knowledge to begin exploring the relationship between success and happiness. You'll learn the four traps of achievement, as well as the four reasons to worry about achievement-based success. Finally, you'll examine the question of whether or not success equals happiness. By the end of this module you'll be able to differentiate between success that is based on achievements, which can be unsatisfying, and success based on other metrics, that can bring deep satisfaction to your life.
What's included
4 videos3 readings1 assignment2 discussion prompts
In this module, you'll begin putting together everything you have learned about yourself and about success so that you can chart your own path to the future. You'll learn how to use the achievement-happiness matrix to assess your current state, how to determine your current motivations, how to discover what work is meaningful to you (and whether or not you are employed doing it), and how happiness and success are measured differently. You'll conclude this module, and the course, by creating a personal theory of success which you will share with your classmates in peer review. There, you'll have the opportunity to see other theories of success, which may spark some additional exploration of your own. By the end of this module you'll have articulated a personalized theory and vision of success that you can use to create more happiness for you yourself.
What's included
6 videos2 readings1 peer review1 discussion prompt
Instructor
Offered by
Recommended if you're interested in Personal Development
University of Michigan
University of Pennsylvania
University of California, Irvine
Yale University
Why people choose Coursera for their career
Learner reviews
1,185 reviews
- 5 stars
85.65%
- 4 stars
10.46%
- 3 stars
2.53%
- 2 stars
0.67%
- 1 star
0.67%
Showing 3 of 1185
Reviewed on Apr 27, 2020
Interesting but a little too squishy and personal for my taste. It leads to some helpful introspection but not anything I can directly apply to my career and life.
Reviewed on Dec 6, 2024
I Loved Many Teachings of The Success Course. Professor Shell is Excellent. I Learnt many Things From Him. The Teachings I Learnt From The Success are For Life-Long. Thank You.
Reviewed on Mar 21, 2021
Very nice course. Good for people to understand why to do the things they do, and why they may want to analyze or understand if they need to change what they do.
New to Personal Development? Start here.
Open new doors with Coursera Plus
Unlimited access to 10,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs - all included in your subscription
Advance your career with an online degree
Earn a degree from world-class universities - 100% online
Join over 3,400 global companies that choose Coursera for Business
Upskill your employees to excel in the digital economy
Frequently asked questions
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
If you subscribed, you get a 7-day free trial during which you can cancel at no penalty. After that, we don’t give refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. See our full refund policy.