How Do You Define Success?

Many of you who visit my blog will notice that there is a philosophical bent to my message online.  It is part of who I am, being an introspective sort of person.  As I was walking along a local path this morning, I found myself pondering the definition of success.  What resulted from this reflection was no less than an epiphany to me.

I was in a conversation with a friend yesterday afternoon.  This person is also on a spiritual path as well as being a business associate of mine.  He has an idea about what conveys a message of success and attracts people to each other.  I appreciated his point of view and relate on many levels to what he said but the fact remains that success has a personal definition for us all.

Sometimes we have to wander through a few turnstiles that don't necessarily lead to the sort of success we had envisioned but each leg of our journey is necessary for us to evolve and grow.  Isn't the journey more important than a destination?

For many, success is closely coupled with the amount of money or material possessions they have gathered and can point to as a testimonial about their successes.  Their achievements are portrayed in the form of vehicles they drive or places that they live.  While money is useful and facilitates a lifestyle, money is a false God that has been idolized by our society for far too long.

Along my way, I have become acutely aware of something that I feel is important to share.  I have met many people who define their success though an identity or role.  That might be as a parent, spouse, lover, child, sibling, professional, or any one of a number of other choices we make about how we are living our lives.  In fact, most roles are temporary and are all too frequently influenced by people, places and things outside ourselves.  When that landscape shifts and too much importance has been placed on that particular identity, we can lose our way.

Underneath everything external in life is Being.   As humans, we are blessed with the gift of self-awareness.  This begins in the crib when we first discover our toes.  As our awareness matures, we learn to notice other things about ourselves.  Not everything is tactile or visible.  Whether or not we like what we discover, the choice is ours to make as to whether or not we want to keep that as part of our core way of Being.

We are all stimulated and energized differently.  When we are one with our passions, there is nothing that can stifle our creativity or keep us from being successful.  For me, success is not measured by money, possessions, identity or the vastness of my circle of friends.  It is measured by the amount of TIME that I have to freely pursue my passions. 

I'd like to end this post with a question to answer for yourselves. What defines success for you?

Marj Wyatt | Skype: marjwyatt