Success Is - What Does Being Successful Mean to Me

© Duchess O’Blunt, 2009; all rights reserved.

Success means different things to different people. For some it means fame and fortune. I prefer to measure success the same way Booker T. Washington does: “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.”

Success comes to many because they overcome their failures and continue on, picking themselves up, brushing themselves off, and facing the world again - perhaps with a different approach.

“Failure is success if we learn from it” [Malcolm Forbes]

That sounds so trite! Who in their right mind doesn’t get angry or upset when something you have worked very hard at fails? Not me. I get angry, I get ugly, I’m hard to live with and I want to throw things. Been there, done that - could probably write the book - but who hasn’t?

How long it takes to “get over it” depends on you.  Each failure hurts.  Allow yourself to wallow in your self pity for a while.  Find someone who will listen to you as you rant.  Then get over it and get on with life.

A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.  [David Brinkley]

Some are driven to find the cure for diabetes, cancer or Polio. When those driven people succeed, we all benefit. Some people find their success in exploring and discovering new worlds, or in developing new technology. All of these things are wonderful and thank God they are driven to succeed in their chosen fields because most often you and I benefit from their success as much, if not more, than they do.

Some people find success in building the tallest building, making the most money, creating an empire, or becoming famous. Their drive to find that success is often challenged and they have had to face their own failures and pick themselves up many times to get there. If you had the opportunity to ask any of them, I'm guessing they would all tell you exactly that. So don't feel you are alone.

Not everyone has visions of grandeur. Many people are happy to go to bed at night with food in their belly and a roof over their head and consider that success.

My mother would laugh out loud if you told her you thought she was successful. Most of her life was spent looking after the basic needs of her family, “But that’s just life” she would say. I know of people whose lives she has touched, encouraged and embolden just because she is who she is - and that is success - ask any one of them and they would agree.

Mom taught us all by example that success is being able to say no to those things that are not essential to your health (mentally, physically and spiritually), so that you can provide for your family. We have all learned that - well maybe not all but I AM trying.

How can they say my life is not a success? Have I not for more than sixty years got enough to eat and escaped being eaten? [Logan P. Smith]

I have to say that I am one of the people without visions of grandeur. Sure, I would love to be recognized as the all time best writer ever to inhabit planet earth. But you are probably right there with me in that wish and I'm pretty sure you are the better writer.....so, back to I'm one of those people without a lofty vision of grandeur.

That's not to say the legacy I leave will not be a good one - at least I hope! I truly believe that everyone makes a difference regardless of our position, wealth or fame.

I was once approached to be interviewed and was given a simple list of questions to answer. I'm guessing they wanted to find out what wonderful gems I was going to be able to pass on to their readers. I'm pretty sure my answers either sounded trite or too simple for their tastes. Because the interview never happened.

They wanted to know what my dreams are and my definition of success, and what I had done in my life to achieve them. Ooops, I answered honestly - how utterly innocent I was!

I had two goals as a young girl. To get married and have a family. I managed to obtain my goals. Both of them. I have what I always dreamed of as a young girl. See, no visions of grandeur.

I want my legacy to be that I am known to have a love of God, Country and Family; that I speak the truth, know right from wrong, and work hard to be the best that I can be.

My idea of success is to be able to teach those values [to my children], inspire creativity, encourage them to dream as big as they want to, and to be worthy of the love I have from them and from my husband.

So just like my mother has left her legacy - which was handed down by her mother - I want to leave my children with inspiration, common sense and the ability to balance them both. I hope I am not asking too much of myself. I have some big footsteps to follow.

Here's to your success - whatever that means to you. May you pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and get on with it. Take those bricks that have been thrown at you and build your success, your legacy.

Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally. [David Frost]

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other. [Abraham Lincoln]

Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure. [George Edward Woodberry]

Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success. [Dale Camegie]

Don't confuse fame with success. Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other. [Erma Bombeck]

Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success. [Dale Carmegle]

Formula for success: rise early, work hard, strike oil.[J. Paul Getty]

How can they say my life is not a success? Have I not for more than sixty years got enough to eat and escaped being eaten? [Logan P. Smith]

I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it. [Jonathan Winters]

I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody. [Bill Cosby]

I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate. [George Burns]

I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed. [Michael Jordan]

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no point in being a damn fool about it. [W.C. Fields]

If you want to achieve things in life, you've just got to do them, and if you're talented and smart, you'll succeed. [Juliana Hatfield]

In order to succeed you must fail, so that you know what not to do the next time. [Anthony J. D'Angelo]

In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. [Bill Cosby]

Pray that success will not come any faster than you are able to endure it. [Elbert Hubbard]

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. [Winston Churchill]

Success in almost any field depends more on energy and drive than it does on intelligence. This explains why we have so many stupid leaders. [Sloan Wilson]

Success is blocked by concentrating on it and planning for it... Success is shy - it won't come out while you're watching. [Tennessee Williams]

Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom. [George S. Patton]

Success is often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction. [Al Bernstein]

Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure. [Earl Wilson]

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. [Booker T. Washington]

Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire. [Arnold H. Glasow]

Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go. [William Feather]

Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good. [Joe Patemo]

The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity. [Ayn Rand]

The man who has done his level best... is a success, even though the world may write him down a failure. [B.C. Forbes]

The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year. [John Foster Dulles]

The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people. [Theodore Roosevelt]

Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value. [Albert Einstein]

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