What Success Is

So I was looking over the statistics of my blog and noticed that my last post, The Holding Pattern, only got 4 views. Which I'm pretty sure I'm probably responsible for 2 of them. (And YES I do read my posts a few times after I publish them, that's how I perfect my craft)  Before I could get discouraged, I thought about my journey as a person, a woman seeking and holding herself fearlessly reponsible for relaying the truth (As I know it *wink*) by any means necessary, and I couldn't help but be proud of myself. So I decided to count all of this as a huge part of my coming SUCCESS.

"Action is the fundamental key to success." Pablo Picasso

WHAT SUCCESS IS.... I have observed more and more that society has a skewed view of what success is. The person with the nice car, the most money, the nicest clothes etc are deemed to be successful. And you see droves of people running to gas stations and stores to play the lottery expecting to HIT IT BIG just so that they might fit into these materialistic views. Really now?

Success is NOT MATERIAL. Material things come as a result of success, it is not a predicator. I mean, if we want to base success off of shiny material things, can somebody tell me why one day I saw a man's mint green 2013 Audi (OMG I loves me an Audi!) being towed out of the mall's parking lot, as he was inside the  laundromat washing clothes? I PITY THE FOOL! Hear me on this as well, you can't WAIT FOR SUCCESS! (I hate to burst the bubble of people out here thinking that success will occur overnight)

Why? Because success is at the bus stop waiting on yo ballheaded tail! Success is looking at it's watch like, "Dang, I been here for almost three years now. When are they coming to get me?" Success is a combination of strategic ACTIONS. Notice I said ACTIONS which means you're going to have to do some WORK! So what are these strategic actions?

1. Eradicate FEAR.

Did you know that people fear success? Not only are they afraid of the associated risks, they are also afraid of what it will take to continue to keep the success. They also fear the outcome of possibly FAILING. Let me tell you my awesome friend, success ain't gone get on the bus if fear will be riding on the bus too. FEAR STINKS! AND IT PARALYZES.

2. Develope those TALENTS AND SKILLS!
Everybody was born with a special superpower yo! (*wink*) But for real though, you have a talent, gift, skill (however way you want to put it) that you are really good. This special thing about you is also the same thing that could BLESS others! You've been good at it since you were a tata tot! Now you're a whole french fry with cool nunchucking skills like Napoleon Dynamite (if you've never seen that movie you oughta me afoolshamed) You should be out here developing that talent and researching just HOW you can utilize it to its fullest potential. A lot of people are living unfulfilled UNSUCCESSFUL lives because they aren't operating at their optimum level.

3. Snag that OPPORTUNITY AND START HUSTLING!
One day my pastor shared with my church a quote by Thomas Edison about OPPORTUNITY that goes a little something like this;
"The reason most people miss opportunity because it goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work." This is absolutely funny but oh SO TRUE! So many people have passed up that once in a lifetime opportunity because it required them to lift a few fingers! WELP, I hate to burst your bubble AGAIN, but SUCCESS is like a high maintenance DIVA, SHE WILL make you WORK FOR HER COMPANY! BOOM!

4. Making MISTAKES and LEARNING FROM THEM!
Nobody's perfect and the wonderful melodiously voice of Anita Baker sang, "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes you wanna cry, sometimes, you play the fool..." Mistakes are AWESOME! You hear me? Mistakes are awesome because they are TEACHERS. They teach you how to do it better! I was watching Good Morning America a few days ago and this guy bungee jumped off a cliff with a basketball and shot it into a hoop! The reporter said he'd tried 288 times to make that shot! Say what? Yes! Don't you DARE take that mistake and sweep it under the rug! Take that mistake break it down, understand it, and learn from it!

5. SACRIFICE! (Maestro cue the dramatic music please!)
Maybe I should have put this one first! Nevertheless, SACRIFICE will make up a hefty part of SUCCESS. You have to be willing to give up A LOT to gain A LOT and THEN SOME! You have to want SUCCESS JUST AS MUCH AS YOU NEED TO BREATH! So you've made a decision to use what's inside of you to be successful, but guess what? You're going to have to forgo some things and give up some things to nurture that success.

I'm going to use ME for example. For the last two years I have taken my income tax refund and used it towards my self-publishing endeavor. Mind you SHE ME HER loves clothes and shoes! And I could most def update my wardrobe (YES LAWD!) but I had to be a BIG GIRL and put those things down for what I really want! You see the greater the sacrifice the greater your chance at successs. At some point of time you have to make up in your mind on if you REALLY want it or not. Your ALL will need to be deposited into this thing. No halfstepping! Actually this is what separates the successful people from the not so successful people.

Too many people are thinking that they don't have to give up ANYTHING for SUCCESS and their WRONG! Too many people are thinking that SUCCESS will just be handed to them if they make a few connections with other successful people....NO! Too many people are dreaming of themselves being successful but only a few of them are actually willing to MAKE THOSE DREAMS COME TRUE!

Ok I hear you, you have a desire to make those dreams come true but you don't know how! Well the only way you can KNOW HOW is if you get up off your tail and do the LEG WORK. Open your mouth and ask people questions! (Cuz closed mouths don't get fed on the boulevard shawty!) Do your research. Annoy yourself with your own inquisitiveness and curiousity. Don't just sit there looking pitiful, GO GET WHAT YOU WANT!  SUCCESS is being able to live a FULFILLED LIFE doing whatever it is that you were DESTINED to do and BLESSING OTHERS along the way! You will cry, you will laugh, you will hustle, you will fight, you will fall and get up but when its all said and done and you've reached your ZENITH, you'll be able to sit down and pass your LEGACY on to the ones behind you.....and that my friends is WHAT SUCCESS IS!