Mantra of Success in Life

Let me forewarn you,  people looking for a Forbes listing, please go away!

I am at a critical juncture of my life. Half of it has been spent creating a world for myself (am now 45 almost, so I am assuming a life span of about 90 hence the half) and am at the doorstep of the second half. I often wonder when I see articles that preach the ways to succeed in life saying:
"Define your goal
Make it qualitatively and quantitatively defined
Create a method to achieve
Do the processes to achieve using these methods
Look back at your success and enjoy!!!"

At least most of them end up with the above as the Jist of their advise.

Lets look at each point in isolation :
Define your goal-
How can a person define his goal in life? I am still seeking that one singular goal that I could be able to call the defining ambition of my life.
When I was 15 (that's when my brain became fit enough to think), I though becoming an engineer was The Goal.
Soon by the age of  30 I realized that the sweet smell of success was still missing. However, I was married and just about to be a father. My defining moment that would change the entire course of my life and philosophy was just about to enter my life, and my entire perception of life had already turned around on its head(..?).

My son has become my focus of all efforts for the last 15 years, I don't see the situation changing any time soon (next 10 years). When he will be 25, maybe, my definition of success will have to be refocussed to some other aspiration. Till then, his education, upbringing and his success are constantly consuming my entire intellectual capacity. (actually not only me but my wife too)

So is there really a single achievable goal?

Making a qualitative and quantitative defined goal of the one above:
As the fore mentioned lines were being typed I could already begin to smile, my success is not really a defined and well qualified one. It really is like a changing goal post situation, where every effort at the spur of the moment defines success or failure.

When you see a dear one happy, your instantaneous and immediate Goal is achieved.
When the opposite happens, you have failed miserably.

Create a method to achieve:
Well my take on this step is a bit warped. I think that we constantly move on the inertia of the previous move and make minor course corrections all then time, by which I mean to say " I DONT KNOW WHERE THE HECK I'M GOING" . But far from calling this a failure I think that is exactly what life needs us to do. If you do not swerve with the flow of the stream, life will topple you without your life-jacket on. I have tried to chart a rather staunch and diagonal path several times, which only  met with failure (for a variety of reasons , all of which were not always me). So I take is as a wise experienced (Ahhem.. ) human, that I might be correct in taking such an approach.

However, I do feel much more can be done with support from others around you who can make the vital difference in the direction of the small correction being closer to where it should have been.

Processes:
I feel that life itself is a process, and trying to alter the process in any way will only bring either huge success or huge failure, a stiff choice to make. Those who advise on following a process and talk from a Status of success, probably hit the first by random probability, not by choice!! ( sour grapes you may be thinking).
But sheer numbers are evidence that success comes to only a few in a million. Do you really think that all the others are idiots and clueless? I don't think so. After all there are very few slots to be occupied at the top so ..

Look Back at your success and be happy:
This is one of the dictum that I fully agree about, only that my defined success is made up of so many small and really "person dependent" choices. I have seen happiness when my family smiled with me, I have seen happiness when a puppy licked my face, I have seen happiness when my child rambled his first words we can call language...
There are just too many successes to list down.

In verdict, I have been successful! in a grand way that too!

But my worries are now in the coming half of my life. I only hope wisdom and divine grace fill this half too with the same dignity and happiness I have enjoyed so far.

Those who have read, please post in your comments and please share your thoughts for :
Success is not a Financial / Social Order / Materialistic or Physical achievement. It is but a magical moment of our lives that make it worth all the effort, it can happen every day, or once in a month, can be intense or a simple quiver or joy.