Success is

I had the opportunity to be at a Career Mentoring programme this past Saturday where I heard two speakers that were amazing.  One in particular had me scrambling for a paper surface that I could take notes.  His name is Deshawn, a young man still looking like he has baby's milk on his mouth. Yet no man should despise his youth, for his words were anything but child like.  He was prepared and inspiring.  He was mature and albeit nervous, able to speak to room full of strangers to encourage his peers and their parents to look towards better. 

I was inspired by his words and even now days after, I am still very much pensive about it.  He spoke about himself as he told the audience that each person has to define success as it is to themself.  He said the Man in the mirror is the one that determines what it is that they would consider to be their moment of success.  He said he thought it meant having lots of money and working in a job or carreer that was main stream.  However, after many years and money wasted he went back to his passion of english and reading. 

This is where I began to nod in agreement.  I started to ask myself, what is success for me?  How do I define being successful?  Is it determined by what I do for a living? Is it defined by my back account balance? Am I a success and if so, or not, by what measurement? One of the things that Deshawn said was that we are not to stray too far from who we are in our pursuit of success.  So again I started to ask myself what I was passionate about...what was it that was as much apart of my DNA as the blood in my veins?  Was I living out my passion?  He also said that success is happiness...if you are a doctor and miserable are you then successful? 

Friends, this is to inspire you to redefine success by what makes you happy, even if it is hard work, and even if you still dont have millions. It is to cause you to reflect upon your life and see if you are walking in the God given gifts you have been given.  You know that thing that you do, because it is just who you are?  You know that passion that burns even though it may be covered by life and responsibilities and expectations outside of your own making? 

Please, take this time to seriously and truthfully define success to yourself...success is whatever you and God define it to be.