January 6, 2014 Focus Point

What Is Success To You?

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." ~Winston Churchill

"Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another." ~Napoleon Hill

"A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him." ~David Brinkley

"To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence." ~Mark Twain

"Successful people make bold decisions and they follow through on them." ~Unknown

"In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure." ~Bill Cosby

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." ~Winston Churchill

I just recently had the chance to purchase an audio recording from Earl Nightingale and was reminded of what a legend in the personal growth industry he was dating even back to one of his first messages The Strangest Secret that he delivered in 1956. In The Strangest Secret he answers the question that he had been searching for since he was 9 years old. The question was regarding why some people have so much success and abundance in life and yet others struggle merely to survive. He defines success as the progressive realization of a worthy ideal. His life and teachings were such a positive impact. For example: "The greatest puzzle is life. The greatest mistake is giving up. The greatest comfort is work well done. The greatest journey is that of the mind, because it determines life."

My definition of success is: Knowing who you are and working to become such. When I think of success I think of potential. Potential is one of the most powerful words in any language. Yet so many people understand it incorrectly. They think of a great job as having potential or a book as having potential, maybe they see potential in a particular relationship. The truth is that all of these are opportunities, but the potential to fulfill and connect with that opportunity is only in you. It can come from nowhere or no one else, but you. Your preparedness and the expression of a higher level of your potential will meet with the opportunity and turn it into something greater. We often hear: "Success is when opportunity and preparedness meet." Isn't it amazing what you see in the world, when you know what you are looking for? I love the expression: "You don't see the world the way it is, you see it the way you are."