Success. What does that word mean? When most people think about success (myself included), the very first thing that comes to mind is money. Makes sense doesn’t it? But I don’t think that’s what success is really made of. Success is the opposite of failure. Success is triumphing in everything that we engage ourselves in. For example: “Back in the day” (I can see my kid’s eyes rolling now) before the advent of children’s shoes with velcro fasteners, we had to learn to tie shoelaces. After many tries and many tears, with perseverance I was successful. Now mind you, they were tied abit on the loose side, but with more practice my shoe tying improved.
HARD WORK
Lydia Sweatt has written an article on “Quotes to Inspire You to Be Successful.” In her November 2016 article from Success.com, she writes” “Successful people don’t become that way overnight. What most people see at a glance – happiness, wealth, a great career, purpose – is the result of hard work and hustle over time.”
To be successful, we have to use each day given to us as an opportunity to improve and to be better. Our imagination is our only limitation. Great things never come from our comfort zones. Alot of us don’t like to move out of this zone but in order to achieve success we are going to have to push ourselves because no one else is going to do it for us.
ACHIEVING
I have personally found that the harder I have worked for something, the greater I have felt after I’ve achieved it. One example comes to mind. I was learning to drive stick shift. My mother gave me a lesson, took me out to my uncle’s field and got out of the car. It took me the longest time to find the reverse gear to back up but after much grinding I succeeded.
Did that one incident make me a successful driver? No. It was hard learning the gears and when to change them, but hard did not mean impossible. I succeeded in that one particular task but with more practice and determination, I gained confidence to try for my driving licence, my tangible evidence that I had succeeded in learning how to drive.
STRENGTHS
Ms. Sweatt says that: “Sometimes we’re tested not to show our weaknesses , but to discover our strengths.” There have been times in my life that I honestly thought I’d never survive. I look back now and see there was an inner God-given strength that I never realized I had. The Bible says that His power is made perfect in our weakness. How has this made me successful? It’s because those trials have made me a more confident person and enabled me to help people that may be going through some of those same trials.
BOUNTIFUL
The word bountiful means large in amount; generous in giving to others. Over the years I’ve learned that there are many ways we can generously give to others. Things such as time, finances, encouragement, comfort and sharing the things we have just to name a few.
To put bountiful and success together means to me that by sharing my time, things I’ve learned in my life, places I’ve travelled that I will bring a smile or encouragement to someone. For me the greatest moment of success will be when I stand before God my Creator and hear Him say: “Well done good and faithful servant.”
Bountiful Success 