Billionaire Richard Branson's definition of success has nothing to do with money.

"In my opinion, true success should be measured by how happy you are," the entrepreneur writes on LinkedIn.



Happiness isn't just a metric to measure his level of success — it's also the key to it, according to Branson: "Most people would assume my business success, and the wealth that comes with it, have brought me happiness. But I know I am successful, wealthy and connected because I am happy."



The Virgin Group founder asked a handful of his employees to share their "happiness mantras," which he then highlighted on his blog. Here are the five that Branson plans on adopting in 2017, plus his own personal mantra for happiness.