Success means many different things to many different people.
Some people associate success with money, tons of money.
Some people associate success with having things, lots of things.
Some people associate success with having a glorious career, or even fame.
I used to think that way too. I worked hard but was trampled on by the greed of others in many occasions, most especially the one that led to my failed attempt in franchising a Domino’s Pizza store. I wrote the lengthy story for my book in an attempt to show my ambition but I had to take it out because the book was just too long, so I saved the story for my next book. Since Nicky’s birth, however I had to completely re-assess the meaning of success. Ambition is fine, but life is more than money, things and fame.
We often see the famous and the rich involved in several messy divorces, who entered rehab, or who were perhaps caught in a DUI or even overdosed. Many of them become greedy, tons of them are miserable. That does not sound like success to me.
Demonstrating a certain level of material or financial status gained through ambition and luck (there is always luck involved, as I have experienced in my own life) is to only grasp a small portion of your success. In other words, to me at least, success is being happy in every aspect of your life.
There are so many people that seem to never be content with their life. If they are not complaining about one thing, they are complaining about two. The trouble is that we are surrounded by a materialistic culture and we are taught at a young age to strive and aim higher. And while it can be profitable to be that way, it does not always translate in happiness. With this attitude we can be very unhappy, become envious, which translate into ungratefulness. We must strive to put things into perspective.
Life’s a journey and it changes all the time. I try not to sweat the small stuff. It’s small stuff. And I try not to worry about things I have no control over. I try to have a sense of humor about things and throw tons of love to my family. It makes me happy.
I may not be “success” in business at this time (although I have been in the past), and having had a child with a disability impaired that capability, but as a daughter, a sister, an aunt, mother and wife, I am happy and I consider myself a success. Perhaps someday I may have that career again. As a woman I have to pick what’s important to me and prioritize accordingly.
I can have it all, not all at the same time is all.
Success is also recognizing that.
Love & Light,
