“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” ~Anais Nin
What Does Success Mean to You?
Success to me means living a life where I’m free to make decisions out of enthusiasm, not of fear. It means living life on the offense instead of the defense. To me success means much more than material things, it means being the best version of “me” I can be. Being the optimal you is the best way I can think of to have a profoundly positive impact on both the world and those people around you.
I am a work in progress and I want to remain that way until I draw my last breath here on Earth. The moment you adopt this attitude the world and each person in it becomes a potential learning experience. The great thing about this philosophy is the more hard work you do to become a better you the more you attract all of the positive (including the material) things into your life.
Many people fail to achieve their dreams in life simply because they don’t have a clear definition of success. As a result, they spend their years chasing one dream after another and wake up one day wondering where all the years went. There are probably as many definitions of success as there are people on the planet. Take the time to craft your clear, concise definition of what success means to you. Write your definition of success down or type it out on your mobile phone and keep it with you always. Tape it to your bathroom mirror so it’s the very first thing you see in the morning.
I’ve noticed that on this journey to becoming the best version of yourself you quickly realize a couple of things:
The Positive. You can make this transition to your best self happen much faster by surrounding yourself with as many positive people as you possibly can. These are people who lift us up, who inspire us. Also, actively search for individuals who possess the facets of success, skill-sets, or qualities you wish to attain. These people will be your faithful guides (or mentors) and will help you achieve your goals much faster; and
The Not So Positive. You need to shed the tremendous weight of those people in your life who bring nothing but habitual drama and negativity. These people drain your energy. This might sound harsh but there’s a fine line between providing support to these kinds of people and enabling them. It’s up to us to find this line and stick to it, it’s called tough love for a reason, it’s not easy. The Not So Positive are like a maelstrom of chaos just waiting to suck you in. If we want to continue on our path to the best versions of ourselves, we must simply say bye-bye to this kind of foolishness.
How Bad Do You Want It?
I really relate to that quote above by Anais Nin. It would be wise to add, “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s communication and networking skills.”
Do you really want to find success? Are you ready for extremely hard work, risk, responsibility, the willingness to face your innermost fears. If the answer is yes and your mind is made up there is not a thing that can stop you. One way to make our journey to our best self a lot easier is finding a mentor, or several mentors, whose messages you really identify with. A particular mentor who helps me may not be the perfect fit for you.
I can think of four people off of the top of my head throughout my life who have had an tremendous impact on my personal and professional development. Their personalities, specialties, and accomplishments are all completely different from one another.
- My Dad. He took a skinny asthmatic child with thick glasses and molded me into a strong young man and taught me the definition of hard work.
- Mr. Morgan, my seventh grade teacher. He taught me that despite coming from a poor upbringing I wasn’t at a disadvantage and I could achieve anything I wanted.
- Raj Beekie. Raj was an instructor in the Training and Development department of the company I work for. Raj pushed me to be my best self. He invited me to co-facilitate with him to teach a course on Meditation and Emotional intelligence. This infused me with great confidence and laid the groundwork for my own meditation classes; and
- James Altucher. James is a goldmine of good advice. He’s taught me it's always best to “choose myself” because you can rely on no one else in the world to take care of you, including your employer.
Find your own mentor or mentors. Have the courage to reach out and ask them questions or advice.
You’re Going to Become a Mentor Yourself (Whether You Like It or Not)
After you’ve reached a certain point in your personal and/or professional development you will automatically become a mentor…you really have no choice in the matter. You see, our human brains are wired to emulate those around us who we see as “Alphas”, those who we view as successful. Whether you are consciously mentoring or not at a certain point people will begin to follow you. No matter where you are in your journey there are always those who you will look up to and those people who look up to you.
No matter how many of your goals you achieve in life never forget the great impact a moment of your time, a small deed, honest feedback, or kind word can have on someone who’s working hard to become the best version of themselves. If you're in the position to help someone please consider it. Not a single person on this path has ever done it alone.
(Gifs sourced from Giphy.com)
*I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and Steemit enthusiast. If you’ve enjoyed my writing and poetry, my handmade poetry chapbook, Emancipation, is for sale on Peerhub for a limited time.
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Success to me means living a life where I’m free to make decisions out of enthusiasm, not of fear. It means living life on the offense instead of the defense. To me success means much more than material things, it means being the best version of “me” I can be. Being the optimal you is the best way I can think of to have a profoundly positive impact on both the world and those people around you.
I am a work in progress and I want to remain that way until I draw my last breath here on Earth. The moment you adopt this attitude the world and each person in it becomes a potential learning experience. The great thing about this philosophy is the more hard work you do to become a better you the more you attract all of the positive (including the material) things into your life.
Many people fail to achieve their dreams in life simply because they don’t have a clear definition of success. As a result, they spend their years chasing one dream after another and wake up one day wondering where all the years went. There are probably as many definitions of success as there are people on the planet. Take the time to craft your clear, concise definition of what success means to you. Write your definition of success down or type it out on your mobile phone and keep it with you always. Tape it to your bathroom mirror so it’s the very first thing you see in the morning.
I’ve noticed that on this journey to becoming the best version of yourself you quickly realize a couple of things:
The Positive. You can make this transition to your best self happen much faster by surrounding yourself with as many positive people as you possibly can. These are people who lift us up, who inspire us. Also, actively search for individuals who possess the facets of success, skill-sets, or qualities you wish to attain. These people will be your faithful guides (or mentors) and will help you achieve your goals much faster; and
The Not So Positive. You need to shed the tremendous weight of those people in your life who bring nothing but habitual drama and negativity. These people drain your energy. This might sound harsh but there’s a fine line between providing support to these kinds of people and enabling them. It’s up to us to find this line and stick to it, it’s called tough love for a reason, it’s not easy. The Not So Positive are like a maelstrom of chaos just waiting to suck you in. If we want to continue on our path to the best versions of ourselves, we must simply say bye-bye to this kind of foolishness.
How Bad Do You Want It?
I really relate to that quote above by Anais Nin. It would be wise to add, “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s communication and networking skills.”
Do you really want to find success? Are you ready for extremely hard work, risk, responsibility, the willingness to face your innermost fears. If the answer is yes and your mind is made up there is not a thing that can stop you. One way to make our journey to our best self a lot easier is finding a mentor, or several mentors, whose messages you really identify with. A particular mentor who helps me may not be the perfect fit for you.
I can think of four people off of the top of my head throughout my life who have had an tremendous impact on my personal and professional development. Their personalities, specialties, and accomplishments are all completely different from one another.
- My Dad. He took a skinny asthmatic child with thick glasses and molded me into a strong young man and taught me the definition of hard work.
- Mr. Morgan, my seventh grade teacher. He taught me that despite coming from a poor upbringing I wasn’t at a disadvantage and I could achieve anything I wanted.
- Raj Beekie. Raj was an instructor in the Training and Development department of the company I work for. Raj pushed me to be my best self. He invited me to co-facilitate with him to teach a course on Meditation and Emotional intelligence. This infused me with great confidence and laid the groundwork for my own meditation classes; and
- James Altucher. James is a goldmine of good advice. He’s taught me it's always best to “choose myself” because you can rely on no one else in the world to take care of you, including your employer.
Find your own mentor or mentors. Have the courage to reach out and ask them questions or advice.
You’re Going to Become a Mentor Yourself (Whether You Like It or Not)
After you’ve reached a certain point in your personal and/or professional development you will automatically become a mentor…you really have no choice in the matter. You see, our human brains are wired to emulate those around us who we see as “Alphas”, those who we view as successful. Whether you are consciously mentoring or not at a certain point people will begin to follow you. No matter where you are in your journey there are always those who you will look up to and those people who look up to you.
No matter how many of your goals you achieve in life never forget the great impact a moment of your time, a small deed, honest feedback, or kind word can have on someone who’s working hard to become the best version of themselves. If you're in the position to help someone please consider it. Not a single person on this path has ever done it alone.
(Gifs sourced from Giphy.com)
*I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and Steemit enthusiast. If you’ve enjoyed my writing and poetry, my handmade poetry chapbook, Emancipation, is for sale on Peerhub for a limited time.
I love how you underline the fact that we, whether we want or not, become examples for others, therefore a sort of mentor to others. It is a truth I share with the students at the elementary school I work at everyday and,speaking of school, after over 20 years of teaching, I have became highly aware of the efficiency of a mentorship program and how it really helps everyone to the fullest both the so-called pupils and the mentor. If our societies really wanted to efficient, that'd be the way to go. I guess we might have to wait for a bit more of a revolution in that way for it to fully take shape in a system. Meanwhile, the trend is rising and it is exciting to see it happen more and more all over the world. I guess people are finally starting to come to the realization that schools aren't necessarily for everyone and for a society to become more inclusive, tapping into a mentorship system would enhance much more accurately each other natural and learned gifts.
Good article, as per usual, thanks a bunch for sharing. All for one and one for all! Namaste :)
Thanks @eric-boucher! I commend you for working in the school system. We definitely need more people like you influencing this next generation. I suspect we’re going to have a lot of rebuilding to do after these next four years. Namaste!
No doubt! I have the feeling the rebuilding has started under many different forms already. Let's see what will come of it. May the force stay with you, all for one and one for all! Namaste :)
Thank you for your honesty Eric.
I love how you stress the importance of positive people around you and then give the examples in your own life.
You have become a mentor to me through the Steemit platform. I lost my love of writing for a few years after high school. Reading your repertoire of posts and seeing your success has encouraged me. Thank you for being persistent and writing with integrity.
You’re welcome @lydon.sipe! I’m honored that you would consider me a mentor. I, honestly, am feeling lately as if I’ve lost some of my relevance on the platform. It’s good to know people are still reading and still connecting with my work here. I appreciate your comment!
You're quite welcome!
Thank you for continuing to write.
In a previous post I think I asked you to be a mentor for me. I am rarely visiting steemit these days, but you're the only person whose posts I seek out. So I suppose even though you've never met me, I am trying to learn from you and you are a mentor in a matter of speaking. Thanks for doing the thing.
I'm very flattered @uniwhisp! I hope you continue to enjoy my work. Is there any particular reason you're spending less time on the platform?
I had commented on one of your posts a bit back, not sure if you saw it. But I was questioning whether or not it was worth it for someone like myself. It seems that for folks who already have a good following elsewhere, this is a perfect platform. But if you're trying to develop that, and you don't have the quantity of content to be posting every day, it seems you just get lost in the sea. Just harder to make connections if you're a minnow, and hard to grow from a minnow unless you're established already elsewhere it seems.
I didn't really have a huge following when I came here. I think the secret here is posting regularly and really engaging through upvotes, resteems, and comments. Thanks for your support!
The examples you share profoundly emphasize the need for life long learning from mentors who are invested in "me". Relying solely on those interested in their own self interests can suck souls dry. Brilliant mentors and life coaches can be incredible life enhancing resources. They can help us find a critical balance between the true selves we want and need to be and the contributions we make to the bottom line of those we serve.
Your wisdom here will be valuable to many.
Thank you, @eagankaren1! You bring up a good point. Many of these mentors are not only wise in the usual ways, they've discovered how the universe really works. People get what they give and when your eyes are open to this it really makes you a conduit for spreading positive change and success. I appreciate your comment!
In my own journey, I find it impossible to make it without any mentors! Our lack of knowledge can force us to work hard, but towards the wrong direction, and it is foolish not to seek for an advice from a person, who is on the right path!
Great article. Also, I want to add that whatever you reach in your life, there will always be ways to improve. That means that there will always be a need of a mentor. So let's keep mentoring and be mentored... with wisdom and by wise people.
Have a great day, Eric! A very strong and interesting article!
@writingamigo, you've said everything I was thinking as I read this! Really wonderful piece @ericvancewalton!!
Thank you very much @natureofbeing!
Thanks, @natureofbeing. Glad to hear it!
Thank you @writingamigo! I very much share your idea of lifelong learning and evolving. I feel so bad for those who become disinterested and disengaged with the world. I really appreciate your comment! Are you still traveling?
Yeah, it is good to see people who care about evolving and improving! It is not that usually as I would expect
And yes, I am still on the way. However, Argentina is the last stop. Coming home to Lithuania next month after over a year... It is time for a new chapter, though, so I am waiting for it!
Great, I wish you safe travels on the last leg of your journey and many more meaningful adventures!
The best definition of "success" I've ever heard is: "Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal." I believe I first heard this on Earl Nightingale's recording, "The Strangest Secret."
I really like that, @chessmonster! Thanks for sharing it! A relentless pursuit of excellence.
Great thinking man! loved the writing skills!
I really appreciate it!
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