Success Through One Mans Eyes

Peace be with you my friends!

What is success? How would you define it? How does a two year old with a pair of 50's plaid shorts and a six shooter define success? Or, does he merely contemplate the present he can see and hear and touch? Well, there will only be a million more questions like these for this little guy as time runs swiftly by him, and many of them will go unanswered. They will remain a mystery.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us." As I look at myself through the eyes of experience I see something very important. What I imagined to be important during much of my adult life really wasn't and what I have today is much like what I had as a child; a love for life, the very simplest of things, like being myself, acting goofy, making my mother smile just by being who I was, 'lil 'ol toy six shooter - me!

So what the heck does this have to do with SUCCESS? Nothing and everything, I suppose. I guess it's just my way of illustrating how much our perceptions change as we grow and development, not all for the best, either. I believe I have come almost full circle and what I define as success today seems more like where I started than where I was for the majority of my adulthood. So I guess I want to provide this acronym for success, if for no other reason that to cause those who are looking for significance in their lives to know you are not alone. There have been many before us and there will be many after us who have experienced this hormonal imbalance in men! (Sorry, I just couldn't resist)

I developed this acronym to remind me of what is really important to me and to keep me grounded in the truth I saw as 'lil 'ol six shooter - the purest eyes I've ever seen through. Yes, even better than today with all the wisdom I've gained over the years. Thank you Lord!

S ingle-minded
U nselfish
C hosen
C hallenged
E xcellent
S incere
S haring

Unfortunately that is all I have time for this evening! This is a great place to stop and contemplate. Tomorrow I will continue my definition of success and how the process of defining success relates to our attainment of it.

My thought for this evening is - Success is not something we ascribe to or attain but something we experience on the way to significance. It is not a destination but a by product of being that which we are gifted for and designed to be.

Until tomorrow, peace be with you!