Success Defined
Success Defined
If we were to sit in a room with 10 people…(definitely a hundred people or more)...and passed out sheets of paper and asked everyone to write down (even on a small 3 X 5 card) a couple of sentences of what “success looks like”. I'd be willing to bet that we would get many different types of answers. In fact, I dare say that there would not necessarily be one answer that looks the same.
Why is that?
I think that we all have our own different definition of what success is.
For some people, success is a simply status. It's “I worked my way up through this university. I got this degree and then I entered this job entry level and I attained these things. I was promoted and I moved up and I earned this title.”
That title may be attached to a certain level of income, (sometimes a little bit, and sometimes a lot). And so we go through the process of defining our success.
Maybe through our bank account
Maybe what possessions we have,
Maybe what we drive that's in the garage
Maybe the square footage of our home
Maybe the area in which we live.
Maybe for us, success is lived through our spouse. If we're married or through that significant other that we cherish. Maybe, if we have someone like that...then we're successful
Maybe, (those of us that have children) if our child attains this and gets that badge or that trophy, then I'm successful.
I believe all of these things in and of themselves can be really great and positive things.
These are “Benchmarks”, valued relationships or accomplishments in and of our life we aspire to attain and accomplish. Adding a digit to the bank account is not necessarily a bad thing, but my question for us today is “At what cost?”
When we look at defining success, I would encourage you to write it down.
Success for me looks like _________________ (write it down)
I would encourage you not to just define success in one small area of your life, but I would submit for your consideration that your relationships matter. People matter. Yes. What you do to impact others through the workforce and the workplace. It matters. I think who we are matters. I believe how we treat others matters. I would encourage you to kind of just step back from the “rat race” (if you're in that) or maybe building that blueprint in that plan and you say, “Hey, in two years I want to do this... in five years I want to do this.”
All of that is good. We do that, but I want to make sure that today you and I possibly look at what is true success.
Let's define that. And then based on that definition, let's start to walk that out and build that out.
And anything that interferes with that or potentially could sabotage the true meaning and true definition of success...we possibly have to move that to the side and even say “no” to good things.
And so for you today (and for me), let's write down what success looks like.
Let's define it.
Let's work toward it.
And let's have others in our life that can speak in such a way - where maybe if we step out of bounds from time to time - they can nudge us back...or maybe kick us back, uh, toward reaching our goals the right way.
Let’s define success in such a way that impacts others and makes a difference in this world.
Tombstone
Tombstone
What will your Tombstone say?
What will your tombstone say? Beyond the obvious...of when you were born and when we all at some point - leave this earth.
There's a tombstone
There's a Memorial
There's a place that symbolizes that we walked this earth.
Many times there's a statement of honor, a proverb, a Bible verse or a quote that that person attempted to live their life by. And I think that when we look at the dash - essentially the time that we're here on earth - the conversation gets pretty serious.
I think we may not often chew on that, so to speak.
We may not dwell on that because that's not always an easy topic.
I want to encourage you today to think about what you want your life to count...your “mark”. How are you going to leave your “mark” on this earth?
You might be really young, you might be a teenager, you might be in your 20s or 30s, or you may be in a season of life where you don't know how many days you have left.
If you woke up today and you're thankful for another day….if you don't know what tomorrow holds...we can still take hope.
None of us are guaranteed tomorrow.
So today reflect and think about what you want your tombstone to say.
In one or two sentences - the theme of our life is summarized. I hope as you and I live our lives, that we would be the kind of people that would love others, encourage others, help our neighbor along the way, make this world a better place, be a hope carrier to a world and a generation that so desperately needs it.
So think about that.
What you want your tombstone to say? Write it down. And once you say, “That's what I want my life to be and how I want it to count!” Then take action, and start to live that out day by day, week by week, month by month. And by the grace of God, hopefully we all have many, many years left on this earth...but we know that we have today. So let's live life today (in such a way) that whatever is written on our tombstone - we, and future generations - our family, those that bear our name could say “Yes, they lived a life of impact.”
“They lived a life of significance…” I think when we do that, we're living life to the fullest.
Impact →
It’s Not About Me
We live in a culture and in a society in a day and age where it's all about me.
It's all about consumerism.
It's all about consumption.
It's all about what do I get out of this?
I think many people possibly struggle with this to some degree.
I think it's a human nature to battle this to a degree.
I think some of us feed that mindset...and we feed it often. And that's that's who we become.
And then I think there's those of us who (hopefully I'm one of them...and hopefully you're one of them) are going to fight against that nature and know that we're put on this planet to do more than just consume it.
It's not about me.
When we approach life that way, life can be so much more fulfilling. There is so much more joy because we're waking up each day knowing I don't know how much time I have on this earth, but I want to make an impact.
I want to impact people's lives. And so I think maybe today if you're struggling with some discouragement or maybe today you're alone. What I've heard about people that battle depression, battle anxious thoughts, or battle discouragement...what a lot of them do to get out of that pit - what a lot of them do - is they find someone around them that maybe has it a little or a lot worse off than they have it and they go figure out how to add value to that person's life.
It might be making a meal for someone and taking it to their house.
It might be helping a single mom out, moving some furniture into their new apartment.
It might be mentoring a young teenager that lost someone - maybe lost a parent - or helping someone who has a rough life at home.
You see, when we step out of our world and all of our problems and we lift others up, it's amazing the things that we can accomplish for someone else and the great joy that comes from impacting others. So whatever you're going through toda - I want to encourage you find one thing that you can do for someone else today to impact their life. And I'd be willing to bet that it may not be today, it may not be next week, but as we start to do those things more and more and look to impact others in a positive way, I'd like to think that there's a whole lot of joy coming your way. Don't do it for that. Do something positive to impact and help others - but as we give and serve and love others, feelings of joy is what happens. We start to become full and fulfilled. My hope for us today is that we would impact someone's life in a positive way.
No Fear →
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No Fear
How many of you know that that fear, for many people, is a real, raw emotion?
Fear
A fear of what's coming next
A fear of whether or not I am going to get that job promotion
A fear of what's going to happen with my family?
A fear of what's going on with the health of someone I love and care about
A fear of maybe myself...anxious thoughts...can trap the heart of man inside the four walls.
Sometimes a few of the thoughts that come our way can almost paralyze us. And I want to encourage each of us today to, to put one foot in front of the other and make a decision that we're NOT going to have fear. I'm not talking about a healthy respect for things that we probably should have some concern about.
I'm not gonna go play with rattlesnakes.
I'm not gonna go wrestle a bear.
I'm personally not going to jump out of an airplane (although some of you might with a parachute by the way).
“No Fear”
Many years ago there was a slogan “No Fear”. A brand was created, a t-shirt company and all of these things labele “No Fear”. It's amazing when you look at things that people are afraid of. Some studies have shown that the number one fear that most people have is a fear of public speaking. Whatever your fear might be, I want to encourage you to identify it and start to surround your thoughts and your actions to not allow those things to paralyze you.
You can take those thoughts captive.
You capture those fears and you combat those negative, fearful thoughts.
Find someone in your circle group, your friends that can encourage you.
Replace them with Faith filled thoughts.
Maybe you're going to have to seek out some additional help or counseling...if you’re struggling - find someone who has walked the path you're walking, had to face some of the trials trials that you might be facing and find out what they did. Take them out to lunch and say, Hey, what did you do that helped you walk through that valley, through that anxiety, or through that thing that you fear?
We're not meant to walk this alone. So if there's something you fear I want to encourage you to lean into it and face it.
Face your giants
Face your fears
On the other side of that step of faith...when we face it, there's growth.
And while those concerns may not ever completely go away, they don't have to paralyze you and they don't have to paralyze me. So whether your fear is public speaking or jumping out of an airplane with a parachute, or a high dive or whatever your fear might be...let's not let those things paralyze us from living the life that we were intended to live. I hope that encourages you today.
Desire To Excel →
Deep down inside of every human being, there is a desire in us to Excel. To be good at something. For some of us that might be in the academic world, it might be learning something new, learning a trade, learning a craft, learning a skill for others that might be in the arena of arts. Learning how to play an instrument, learning how to sing a song or master a certain form of dance or production. I also have experience seeing people thrive and Excel and work toward goals in the athletic arena. When people commit to something, they want to do something. Most of the time I think we're wired deep in our soul to try to be the best...whatever that is. And everybody's different and that's okay and that's good.
We should appreciate people that are different that think differently than us...that have different desires, dreams, goals and passions. But I think that whatever we choose to do, whatever our gift is...or maybe it's something we long or aspire to accomplish or become...there is a desire to Excel and be great at it.
I don't know what happens in the heart of a man or woman when somewhere along the way give up.
Maybe as a child, we try something and when we fall or we fail
Maybe, maybe we're teased. And so we say “I'm not trying that again!” because who wants to be teased?
Maybe it's as a young adult, maybe it's the teenage years... It just didn’t go well.
We want to try something. We go out for a team, we'd go out for that part in the play and we don't quite make it. Whether it's because of peer pressure or a lack of emotional support or whatever the reason may be, something happens in many of us, (not everyone), but in a lot of us - where discouragement might set in. Maybe there is some level of success and then we get satisfied and learn to settle. Maybe some apathy takes root.
I want to encourage each of us today to say, “You know what!?! - What am I wired to do?
Who am I?
What am I gifted to do?”
Everyone has a unique gift or passion. Once we make up our mind...we need to say “I want to do that! I want to do that with all my heart. I think that when we wake up every day with an anticipation and excitement to go after becoming the best that we can be... there is a desire to Excel. That means to master that craft and become the absolute best we can possibly be.
And you know that's gonna require time.
That's gonna require commitment.
That's going to probably look like (to outsiders) that were a little crazy
There might be some failure along the way.
What we've seen is when people commit, when they never quit, and they keep striving...when it's in their heart and they're passionate about it...and they go after it - when there's an excitement and an energy behind accomplishing something - it's in the heart of mankind to whatever you do to work at it with all your heart and Excel at it.