What does success in life really look like?
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Day 16 & 17: Success? What does that really look like?
Step #16
I challenge you to consider what success looks like to you? Consider how the stories and quote I share have acted as both a mission and vision statement to guide my life.
Take the time to write a mission and vision for your life. Write down what success looks like to you. How do you want to finish the race?
Find motivating and inspiring quotes to help you develop your mission and vision statements.
Yesterday I was so busy in my office that I couldn’t write my blog until late yesterday evening.
When I got home, I felt tired and drained from a long day of work. What could I do to motivate me to write?
Just when I was going to call it quits, I read a quote on the internet that was really beautiful and uplifting and it dawned on me that I should share with you a favorite quote that has been an inspiration and guide for my life. I started writing immediately but didn’t finish until almost 11 PM so I am posting on day 17 because I really don’t want anyone to miss today’s blog.
I found this quote years ago and it immediately resonated with me. I thought to myself, "This is what I want for my life!“ While in graduate school it hung above my desk as a reminder of what success was all about. It has served as my life compass or vision for my life.
There is a bit of controversy as to who actually wrote this quote; it is most commonly known to be a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson -
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Define Success?
I got a clearer picture of success years ago while working as a hospice nurse. I cared for actors and actresses in Bel Air and Beverly Hills living in mansions and I also cared for people that lived with multiple generations of extended family members in one small house.
It didn’t matter who they were, how much money they had, what they did for a living, they all ultimately left this world and nobody took anything with them. What mattered was who they had around them when they left and how peaceful they were about saying goodbye.
Some affluent and famous patients died alone with no loved ones and struggled through the process of dying. Some of the poorest patients were surrounded by their families and friends and died peacefully knowing they had completed the race well.
Walk through a cemetery and read the headstones. They always describe the deceased’s relationships, their love for others and life, and their character - beloved father; loving daughter and friend; devoted mother; humor was his friend.
I have yet to see a headstone listing the person’s monetary achievements, their career achievements, or their toys they accumulated. It just doesn’t matter in the end.
The True Meaning of Success
Is it that the important things in life have to do with our character; our relationships with others; how we love one another; our relationship with God; and what we contributed to better life on this earth while we were here?
Here are a few of my other favorite quotes to get you thinking about your vision and mission statements:
“Your actions define your character, your words define your wisdom, but your treatment of others defines REAL you.” - Mayur Ramgir
“This above all: To thine ownself be true” - William Shakespeare
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel” - Maya Angelou
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