Success.

Success : the accomplishment of an aim or purpose

• the attainment of popularity or profit
• a person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains prosperity
• the outcome of an undertaking, specified as achieving or failing to achieve its aims.

‘Success’ looks different for everyone. To some it means being the best and having the best, it may look like the amount of $ signs in your bank account, to others it may be to experience life long and meaningful love, and still to some, success is determined by the opinions and regulations of people in your life whom which you hear the loudest. After reading the definitions above, I came to the resolution that “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose” was the definition that most resonated with what I consider to be ‘success’.

I’m highly motivated by purpose. If I can’t see one, then good luck getting my light bulb to turn on. Even in mundane tasks, I need to recognize the target. Continuing on with the idea that success is the accomplishment of such - you must first determine your purpose, before you can recognize the accomplishment of your purpose. If you don’t know what you are headed towards, where in fact, are you even going?

I began to look around at the different areas of my life where I am pursuing a specific aspiration and asked myself how “I can I continue to triumph without letting my own personal speculations of such things get the best of me?" The revelation I received was this :

You don’t achieve success whether in life or in love by comparing yourself to others or by making choices based on fear from your past. You achieve success by knowing who you are, remaining true to that, and by remembering that you have something special and unique to bring to the table that no one else has. Eventually, you will find yourself sitting at just the right table.

This was possibly one of the most meaningful “ah ha” moments that I have had in a while. It took something so complex and reduced it to that which is actually quite simple. Success will be achieved through excellence, constant growth, and by choosing to just “be”. Beyond that, I am just running a long distance race that I have not trained enough for, ultimately leaving my body exhausted and dehydrated rather than having the agility to maintain my pace until I achieve the crossing of whatever finish line I may be dashing towards. You do not have to settle to experience success.

You may have heard the quote “It’s not how you start the race, but how you finish that counts.” It’s cheesy and it’s true. In our quest for success, there will be multiple failures, hurdles, roadblocks, dissatisfying relationships, let downs, and disappointments. But, if you continue to press on and know who you are, remain true to that, and remember that you have something special and unique to bring to the table that no one else has. Eventually, you will find yourself sitting at just the right table at just the right time. The success and achievement of your aim will come to pass - it’s inevitable.