Credits: Quora.com
“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success Unexpected in common hours.” ~Henry David Thoreau
Success!
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A word defined by you and me.
Do not be manipulated by the definitions applied to that word by others. Choose your own definition.
Though I believe we all have the potential to succeed in reaching our dreams, I have found that success reaches to a far greater depth in our lives.
Whenever I hug my sister and tell her that I love her, and she responds in the same manner—there is my success.
Whenever I receive a random text or email from one of my long lost friends saying that they love me—there is my success.
When I write something I feel passionate and excited about— even before anyone else has read it—there is my success.
But as Henry David Thoreau writes, there are four elements that assist us in pursuing the lives we dream about.
1. Have a dream.
To discover your dream, ask yourself these questions:
- What do I want to achieve?
- How do I want to feel?
- Where do I want to go?
- Who do I wish to meet?
- What is the legacy that I wish to leave the next generation?
- What do I wish to contribute?
- Where would I like to travel?
- How would I like to live?
- What don’t I want in my life?
- When do I want these things, people, or events to come into my life’s experience?
- How do I want to spend my days?
Answer these questions and you will start to identify your dream.
2. Advance confidently in the direction of your dream.
When you have a sense of purpose, your focus helps refresh your confidence.
Now, your destination—the direction you’re heading in—may change along the way. The important thing is that you keep going on your Journey, and keep learning about yourself through the process.
It is those who meander aimlessly through life with no plans, no focus, no goal, and no reason who lack confidence.
When you know what you’d like to do, and actively choose to keep moving forward, you will feel strong and capable, even as the winds of change blow against your life.
3. Endeavour to live the life you have imagined.
The use of the word “endeavor” implies that there will be times throughout the journey when you may not necessarily spend all your time in the frame that is defined by “the life you have imagined.”
I’ve chosen many of my “detours” because I needed to make a living, but good things often came from the choices I made out of necessity.
Even on a detour—when we’re in the “endeavoring” process—we can reap rewards that will not only benefit us, but also those who accompany us on this wonderful journey called life.
This doesn’t mean we stop endeavoring to create what we imagine. It just means we accept that things don’t always go to plan, and stay committed to our dreams even as we’re diverted from them.
Bumps in the road shall be our teacher, and unexpected travels will be our tutors all the way to success.
4. Meet with success unexpected in common hours.
We’ll face a lot of common hours while striving for our dreams, so make them magnificent. In this way, you’ll experience success at every point along the way—long before you achieve whatever it is you’ve dreamed about.
When you do, because you’ve already celebrated successes in your everyday life, you’ve moved confidently throughout the years, and you’ve stayed committed to your purpose, you’ll know this “arrival” is simply one of many personal successes.
So what unexpected successes have you experienced lately?
