March 10,
2013
Dear
Friends,
How do
you define success? Do you define it as
the achievement of fame or fortune? Sounds
good, but a fortune can disappear just as quickly as it appears. And fame, too, can be fleeting. So is the achievement of fame or fortune a
good indicator that you have lived a successful life? Not the way I look at it, no.
What
about achieving a worthwhile goal, or realizing a lifelong dream? With the sense of satisfaction that comes
from that kind of accomplishment, surely that spells success, right? Well, that is certainly the way the
dictionary defines success. But what if
you reach the end of life’s journey and you have not achieved a goal you set for yourself? Does that mean you have not lived a successful life? Since that’s the case for a large number of
people on this planet—perhaps the majority—I would hate to think that’s true.
So what, then,
does it take to live a successful
life?
In my
humble opinion, there are two things that define success in life. Both have to do with your true nature—the nature of your inner Divine Spirit—and the lasting
happiness that comes from doing what your Spirit is continually calling you to
do.
First of
all, your Spirit is creative, and you are called to create. I am not talking solely about creating a work
of art, music, or literature—although those are admirable activities. Nor am I limiting creativity to the pursuit of
innovations in fields such as architecture, technology, or healthcare. I am talking about creating a life for
yourself, which also includes invaluable endeavors such as building a home,
raising a family, or growing and nurturing friendships.
Whenever
you do anything that brings something new and beautiful into this world, you
are creating. However—as I alluded to
earlier—I question whether your success as a creator should hinge on your
ability to actually complete a
creation. Sure, it feels wonderful to accomplish
a goal or realize a dream. But to your
Spirit, the true joy of creating lies in the process
of creation itself.
If you
doubt that, take the example of a painter.
Do you think a painter would continue to paint if every time he or she
visualized a picture it just somehow instantly appeared on the canvas? No. To an artist—and to your Spirit—the real
joy of creating lies in the journey itself, not just in reaching the
destination. Which means, to me, that true success
lies in the pursuit of a goal, not
necessarily in its final accomplishment. As a man named Charles Carlson put it:
But
here’s a question for you: What if you
realize late in life that you have never pursued a goal that you consider to be
truly worthwhile? What if you realize
that you have been stifling a dream because you didn’t think its fulfillment
was possible? Or what if you have spent
your whole life living someone else’s
dream—the dream of your parents, for instance, for you to be a doctor, when what
you really wanted to be was a sculptor?
What then? Does that mean you have
you not lived a successful life?
Thankfully,
even if you have never set your sights on something grand and glorious and
strived to achieve it, you can still live a successful life. In fact, it is highly likely that you are already living a successful life, and
highly likely that you have been extremely successful in your life all along! How so?
Because the second aspect for living a successful life is simply . . . to
love.
Whenever
you love, you are fulfilling a sacred mission that goes far beyond your call to
create. It is the mission to discover, experience,
and express the most fundamental aspect
of your inner Spirit—the essence of divine love.
Love is
the one facet of your Spirit that outweighs every other facet. And in this plane of existence you are constantly
being called upon to be that love . .
. to share that love . . . and to let that love lead the way. Nothing on earth feels better or makes you
happier than being true to your innately loving nature.
So, my
friends, have you ever loved? Yes? Then you are successful! Have you ever attempted to bring something new
and beautiful into this world that didn’t exist before? Yes? Then you are successful twice over!
Here’s to
creating. Here’s to loving. Here’s to living a successful life.
Steven
© 2013 by
Steven Lane Taylor
Steven
Lane Taylor, LLC
