In your example, I think you would consider it a success, but perhaps John Doe would not, in that he didn't fulfill his goal. If he did consider it a success, t

In your example, I think you would consider it a success, but perhaps John Doe would not, in that he didn't fulfill his goal. If he did consider it a success, then I'd say that's due in large part to the fact that he must have revised his goal somewhere along the way. Based on that, I would say success is 1) different things to different people, and 2) the fulfillment of each person's goals.