The Secret to Success
Someone else's ladder won't get your there
If you’re a high achiever,1 you spend much of your life trying to attain a level of success that will be enough. How do you know when you get there? For most of us, comparison is our method of choice. However, there’s always someone further ahead, no matter what rung of the ladder you are on. We may think there is a cosmic measuring stick that will one day let us know when we’ve arrived.
My friend Tom shared a quote that finally sunk in after hearing him say it a few times:
“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal.” -Earl Nightingale
Stop and let that sink in. Success starts with having a goal — a worthy goal. If you have one, you are ahead of the game. If you don’t have one, hope is not lost because you’re still above ground! The magic is in pursuing it with small daily steps to create momentum. As you read this, you may be in one of 3 groups:
You’ve thrown in the towel and decided this is as good as life gets. Grin, bear it, and distract yourself enough to make it through each day.
You wish you had a worthy goal because you want to live a life of significance.
You have a worthy goal that you’re actively pursuing
If you’re in Group 1, I don’t think you’d be reading this blog, so let’s assume you’re at least in Group 2. It’s good news that you aren’t satisfied even if you don’t know where you are headed.
Does knowing that having a worthy goal is half the battle change how you think about success? There is joy on the journey towards that goal. It doesn’t matter your age or how you’ve failed in the past. You must feel that nudge deep down inside that God made you for something more. You have a worthy goal and associated gifts to uncover and share. Not sharing those gifts is unkind to those you were put on this earth to help.
Put aside distractions and take 20 minutes to write down at least 5 things you would try if you knew you could not fail. Pick one. Take small actions toward learning and getting better each day. You don’t have to wait until you arrive. Today is your day to start! Make it an impactful week!
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Great one! Thank you!