Your success is defined by YOU

The edges of former Hurricane Irma, now Tropical Storm Irma are entering my hometown. Today’s blog post, “Your success is defined by YOU”, was outlined in my mind when I sat down at my desk, but then I quickly got distracted.  The wind whips through the trees and the gutter outside has a drip – a drip perfectly timed to one second intervals, like the ticking of a clock.  This drip mocks me, time is slipping away, one second at a time, and I am distracted from the writing of this blog.
 
My mind skips away to events of the past week, the past month, the past year.  There have been so many challenges recently:  Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Mexico; just as sixteen years ago, the news is filled with both tragic loss and heroic deeds.  The heroic deeds are balm for the soul, pictures of people who showed up as the best version of themselves and helped others.     
 
I think about how I spend my time and what I have to show for it.  Time is a precious resource and I try to be strategic about where this resource is spent.  It is not a resource that can be “banked” for later use; we receive 24 hours each day and they all must be spent.  If we are granted another day, we receive another 24 hours.  The 24 hours tick away, second by second, drip, drip, drip. 
 
Perhaps the dripping gutter provides an adequate definition of “your success is defined by YOU”.  One person’s dream of success is a title and corner office, another person dreams to be a star of a silver screen, and someone else dreams of building bridges to peace within their community.  Maybe you have one enormous success dream or maybe you have many small success projects.  We all have one resource in common while building our success.  We all have 24 hours in a day.  How can you invest 24 hours to your greatest success?
 
What are the building blocks for your success?  We need sleep, food, and shelter to stay alive.  Most of us are required to trade hours for dollars to buy these things.   How will you invest the remaining hours each day?  A wise woman told me she would add love to the list of things needed to stay alive.  How will you invest time to give love, and thus receive?  As I observe the world around me, the happiest people I know give and receive love in lives lived with great purpose.
 
Reviewing what I have written, this blog offers more questions than answers.  There’s a good reason for that –  the answers will vary widely due to your personal circumstances and preferences.  As you define your success, you determine your own answers.  Today can be the best day of your life.  Today can be the day that you say “YES!” to your dream and begin the journey to your success.  You have everything you need to take the first step and the world needs your special gift.  March forward and invest wisely.  Let me know if I can help with the questions along your way. 
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