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Success: Eleven in 2011

Electric Kool Aid
Creative Commons License photo credit: Marty.FM

“There is only one suc­cess — to be able to spend your life in your own way.” ~ Christo­pher Mor­ley

What is suc­cess anyway? 

How do YOU define it?

Per­haps we’ll hear of some­one who has “hit it big”, who has all the toys, who lives in the biggest house, who…

Per­haps that is you.  Your neigh­bor.  The guy dri­ving down the street.  The woman com­mut­ing an hour to work every­day.  The kid vol­un­teer­ing at the food pantry.  The retiree who just won the lottery. 

Is there some­thing deeper, though, that makes this life we are liv­ing more mean­ing­ful?  Is there some­thing else there, adding depth to our years?

I believe, very much, that this con­cept of a deeper suc­cess is way more than what we can see on the out­side look­ing in.

In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intel­li­gent peo­ple and the affec­tion of chil­dren … to leave the world a bet­ter place … to know even one life has breathed eas­ier because you have lived.  This is to have suc­ceeded.”

Suc­cess and mean­ing in life, some­thing really much deeper than what we see in terms of things, accom­plish­ments, and posi­tion. Suc­cess, true suc­cess, is some­thing that comes from within. 

Comes from HOW we are liv­ing are lives.  Comes from WHY we do what we do.  When we con­nect more deeply with these how’s and why’s, we reach suc­cess at a much more mean­ing­ful level.

 

Suc­cess and Deeper Mean­ing in this Life:

With that, I give you eleven indi­vid­u­als who I believe exem­plify what suc­cess is truly all about.  Read below as they share their pearls of wis­dom on suc­cess and mean­ing on this life journey.

Holly Latty-Mann:
As I evolve on this jour­ney, so does my def­i­n­i­tion of suc­cess.  Suc­cess is no longer cre­at­ing a life void of mis­for­tune or pain, as those are the very ele­ments that cre­ate the fiber from which deep, mean­ing­ful suc­cess is spawned.  Suc­cess is there­fore man­ag­ing with grace and dig­nity what­ever mis­for­tune befalls me. And the other half of what gives deep mean­ing to my sense of suc­cess is that feel­ing of peace­ful joy as I cel­e­brate daily the hun­dreds of things that do go right in my world.  With grat­i­tude and grace, every­thing else falls into place.

 

Scott Strat­ten:
Suc­cess to me is being able to sup­port my fam­ily and myself. And when I say sup­port, that doesn’t mean just finan­cially, but emo­tion­ally as well.  One can usu­ally cloud the other.

 

Patience Sal­gado:
I so often want to define or attach suc­cess to big indi­vid­ual accom­plish­ments, but I’m learn­ing more and more every­day that true suc­cess lies in a mil­lion small acts that together reveal a whole life, a whole pas­sion, a whole heart. For me, this makes the every­day so much more mean­ing­ful, know­ing that each small act of kind­ness, love, truth, or courage really do matter. In these acts of con­nect­ing and mov­ing with this intent through the world, we push beyond our­selves and into cre­at­ing some­thing so much big­ger, suc­cess for us all.  

 

Daniel Pink:
Suc­cess, to me at least, is leav­ing the world (and your own lit­tle patch of that world) a lit­tle bet­ter than you found it. If peo­ple are some­how bet­ter off — mate­ri­ally, intel­lec­tu­ally, spir­i­tu­ally — because of your pres­ence, that’s pretty good.

 

Rachel Den­ning:
Suc­cess is not a big home, a large income, and all the ‘stuff’ that’s involved in the pea­cock pageant. Suc­cess comes from qui­etly and con­fi­dently liv­ing on pur­pose, mov­ing toward your dreams, and liv­ing sim­ply within your means. It’s the feel­ing you get when you’re liv­ing right.

 

Kerry Tay­lor:
Suc­cess is an organic apple in one hand, and a tool sharp enough to share the fruit with oth­ers with­out fear of bleeding.

 

Chris Guille­beau:
Suc­cess is con­tin­u­ous improve­ment of cir­cum­stances and mean­ing­ful adventure.

 

Maren Kate:
Suc­cess is almost an ethe­real “I’ve arrived” feel­ing — not 100% how to describe it but I know I’ll know it when it comes.  The deep­est mean­ing I get from fol­low­ing the entrepreneur’s path is the feel­ing of going against the grain and build­ing some­thing I can be proud of.

 

Seth Godin:
I think you’re suc­cess­ful once you cre­ate work that mat­ters, some­thing that was fright­en­ing to cre­ate and pow­er­ful to behold.

 

Chris Bro­gan:
Suc­cess means improv­ing every ele­ment of my life (fam­ily, work, fit­ness, wealth) a lit­tle bit every day and being able to smile more each time I see the results of my efforts.

 

Liz Strauss:
On this jour­ney, I get deep mean­ing from con­nect­ing with peo­ple where they live — in their heads, in their hearts, and in the way they view the world. Every per­son brings me some­thing I didn’t know and would have learned with­out that par­tic­u­lar con­nec­tion. If I lis­ten with who I am I often find they reveal truth and trust that shines bril­liantly and that inspires me to live bet­ter, be bet­ter, and bring my best game to the world.

While every­one who shared here has words that are slightly dif­fer­ent, there is one over-riding theme.  Suc­cess and mean­ing in this life are very per­sonal and so much more than any phys­i­cal things we might obtain.  Suc­cess is truly in liv­ing this thing called life.

To each of you:  thank you for the gifts you bring to this world, for the con­nec­tion you cre­ate from a place of authen­tic­ity, and for your being here to add mean­ing and depth with your thoughts.

Suc­cess:

For me, I find deep per­sonal mean­ing in this life from liv­ing in a place that con­nects my heart and soul out­ward.  When I do this, when I’m aligned with my own inter­nal com­pass — I suc­ceed.  When I come from this place, when I form con­nec­tions at a deeper level — I suc­ceed.  When I love…I succeed…

And you do, too.  You do, when you lis­ten to that voice within and move more fully toward your own true peak.

What is suc­cess, anyway?

How do YOU define it?

Com­ing next week!  Many updates to the Jun­gle of Life web­site, and the release of the e-book with the same name as this site:  Jun­gle of Life | a jour­ney toward your true peak.

Enter your name and email address in the side­bar to receive the e-book as soon as it is released. 

Jun­gle 2.0…the jour­ney continues…

Lance writes sto­ries from his heart, aim­ing to inspire and moti­vate, as you align more fully with YOUR true peak. When he’s not here, you can find him hang­ing out with his fam­ily, rid­ing a bike, or just gen­er­ally act­ing goofy.   Sign up for the Thoughts from the Tree­house newslet­ter and get addi­tional inspi­ra­tion in your email inbox!
Lance Ekum
View all posts by Lance Ekum
Filed Under: Inspiration, Life Tagged With: ,

Comments

  1. Dave says:
    January 25, 2011 at 4:21 am

    Lance, this is great. There are peo­ple here that I haven’t heard of, so thanks for the introduction.

    Suc­cess to me would be to get some­where near meet­ing my true poten­tial, and in doing so pro­vide a secure future for my fam­ily. If I can do that doing some­thing I love, all the better!!

    :-)
    Dave´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..I like a good tweak How about youMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 26, 2011 at 5:22 am

      Dave,
      True poten­tial cou­pled with some­thing that really speaks from your heart.…what a great place to live from!

      Keep rockin’, my friend!! All of this…it is within you!!

      Reply
  2. Keith says:
    January 25, 2011 at 4:48 am

    Lance,

    I res­onate with your mes­sage here. Money is sim­ply a tool and not the barom­e­ter of success.

    Thank you for shar­ing these indi­vid­u­als. Some I knew, oth­ers I did not. I’ll def­i­nitely check them all out.

    I look for­ward to see­ing the changes you’ll imple­ment here. Know­ing you, I know it’s going to be a fun and mean­ing­ful journey.

    Peace my friend

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 26, 2011 at 5:26 am

      Keith,
      While money is some­thing that helps us sus­tain a lifestyle, there is so much more to what makes this life expe­ri­ence one that is truly lived.

      So, here’s to hav­ing that expe­ri­ence of really being alive in this life of ours. And coated in love, life is wonderful…

      Reply
  3. Adrenalynn says:
    January 25, 2011 at 5:01 am

    Thank you for shar­ing! I believe this is what we’re all search­ing for, some­thing deeper, some­thing more, some­thing mean­ing­ful. And even if we do find that some­thing that fills it all with pur­pose, we’re still on that jour­ney. Have a won­der­ful week, Lance, I can’t wait to see what you have in store! I’m cheer­ing you on :)
    Adrenalynn´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Feel­ing goodMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 26, 2011 at 5:28 am

      Lynn,
      …the jour­ney that is an ever-evolving one…our life jour­ney, our mov­ing toward our very own true peak.

      I AM hav­ing a won­der­ful week!! And it is because I’m see­ing you here!! (and thank YOU for the cheers!!)

      Keep shin­ing your awesome!!

      Reply
  4. Julie Ellis says:
    January 25, 2011 at 7:19 am

    Lance,
    Suc­cess to me is know­ing in my heart that I made a dif­fer­ence to some­one. It doesn’t always have to be some­thing grand. Most times it’s the lit­tle things we say or do that mean the most to some­one. It is {LOVE} that brings depth & mean­ing in our lives.

    In this painting…there is some­thing deeper under all the spat­tered colors…there is a flower!
    I believe we each hold some­thing deep inside and we need to share it with those we meet along the way!

    Lance, thanks for shar­ing your wis­dom today, and I have much to read & learn through all the other indi­vid­u­als you have introduced.

    {Love & a smile}
    Julie

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 26, 2011 at 5:31 am

      Julie,
      …and I want you to know that you ARE suc­cess­ful. You are, because you have made such a beau­ti­ful dif­fer­ence to me. I am blessed to know you. And it is in those moments when I know…I know you care. Julie, that is such a won­der­ful gift you give to me.

      So, so much love to you, dear friend…

      Reply
  5. Michele Welch says:
    January 25, 2011 at 7:37 am

    Hi Lance,

    First just let me say, awe­some job with the post! I fol­low many of these peo­ple and it’s great to read up on how they define success!

    So how do I define it? Tough ques­tion; as you can see it means some­thing dif­fer­ent to every­one and there’s no right or wrong answer.

    But in my lit­tle world ;-) , I define it as get­ting to a place in your life where you have found peace: in work and per­sonal. Tough jour­ney as most human beings have a dif­fi­cult time find­ing con­tent­ment with where they are at now.

    It’s a jour­ney for sure …

    Thanks again. :-)
    Michele Welch´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..A Pal­let of Blog­ging Tools I Can’t Do With­out – What About YouMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 26, 2011 at 5:34 am

      Michele,
      Hi!! It’s GREAT to have you here!!

      The “suc­cess ques­tion” is most def­i­nitely not a mul­ti­ple choice ques­tion!! Peace. Michele, that’s a beau­ti­ful view of success.

      And this jour­ney we are on, it is one that con­tin­ues to evolve and change just as we do along the way. May you con­tinue to grow more deeply con­nected to that peace that comes from within…

      Reply
  6. Naomi Estment says:
    January 25, 2011 at 8:37 am

    Love this — thank you, Lance! Also, CONGRATS on cre­at­ing an ebook… I’m look­ing for­ward to even more inspi­ra­tion!!
    Naomi Estment´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..A gift that keeps on giving…My Profile

    Reply
  7. Hilary says:
    January 25, 2011 at 9:12 am

    Hi Lance .. great post and thanks for the intro to you Eleven .. some of whom I don’t know — so they’ll be good to inves­ti­gate further ..

    Suc­cess is bal­ance, patience, secu­rity and love in our heart … def­i­nitely not loads a dosh! Just some ..

    Cheers and a very happy 2011 … sounds as though that path is there with you .. Hilary
    Hilary´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Food– Food– Glo­ri­ous food and mem­o­ries and– and Part 1 !My Profile

    Reply
  8. Chris says:
    January 25, 2011 at 9:18 am

    I’m with ya. You’re preachin’ good, Lance! Don’t stop! Seri­ously, I reaf­firmed my goals for 2011, and under­scored all of them [per­sonal, fam­ily, writ­ing, etc…] with the fol­low­ing affir­ma­tion para­graph: “Know there is time for all of the goals. These are for joy, per­sonal ful­fill­ment and growth. Pos­i­tive things will result from peace­ful focus, ded­i­ca­tion to good and healthy habits, and lov­ing my hus­band, chil­dren, fam­ily and friends. Life IS good and I AM blessed.“
    Chris´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..SickMy Profile

    Reply
  9. Evita says:
    January 25, 2011 at 9:22 am

    Hi Lance

    What a won­der­ful way to show­case that above all, the mean­ing of suc­cess is such a per­sonal aspect. What one per­son sees as suc­cess, may not be, and nor­mally isn’t what another says. The answers from all of the peo­ple you fea­tured are fan­tas­tic and so diverse! I think I res­onated most with Rachel’s def­i­n­i­tion, but who could resist Kerry’s organic apple ;)

    To me suc­cess means hav­ing a sense of deep inner peace and liv­ing life with pur­pose. Suc­cess is also real­iz­ing our per­sonal divin­ity, know­ing that every­thing we want, we already have.

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 26, 2011 at 5:43 am

      Evita,
      Suc­cess IS personal…exactly!

      And — from organic apples to qui­etly liv­ing your dreams…the answers above are most def­i­nitely per­sonal (and meaningful).

      I LOVE what you have shared on suc­cess, Evita. And it rings so true to what I see in you…which is just so beau­ti­ful — to see that what you define as suc­cess is what I see out­wardly pro­jected from you…

      Reply
  10. Tess The Bold Life says:
    January 25, 2011 at 9:38 am

    Lance,
    Of all peo­ple and blogs you men­tion above, I choose Kind­ness Girl as the most impres­sive. Love her and love her blog. She has a big heart like you. Con­grats on all of your hard work and gen­eros­ity over the last 3 years. It’s about that, right?
    Tess The Bold Life´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Run­ning– Why My World Revolves Around ItMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 26, 2011 at 5:45 am

      Tess,
      Awww…thank you!! And I have to agree, Patience has a beau­ti­fully gen­er­ous and kind heart…one she shares so won­der­fully in the world around her.

      And — you ARE right!! It is just about three years now that this site has been here!! (wow, time flies!!)

      Reply
  11. Audra Krell says:
    January 25, 2011 at 11:00 am

    Great, resource­ful list. Loved see­ing some old faves as well as meet­ing new folks. I think only a suc­cess­ful guy could write a post like this.…congratulations!
    Audra Krell´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..When Good Par­ents Are Bad SportsMy Profile

    Reply
  12. Lynn says:
    January 25, 2011 at 11:30 am

    What a great list! True suc­cess = spread­ing joy in small ways, being kind to every­one and hon­est in all your deal­ings.
    Lynn´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Dads bowl– the moon and dose of cheerMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 26, 2011 at 5:48 am

      Lynn,
      I love your def­i­n­i­tion of suc­cess!! And I really feel this from you.

      Lynn, know that you are a gift here, and I’m hon­ored to have you share these very mean­ing­ful words in this space…

      Reply
  13. JaneBeNimble says:
    January 25, 2011 at 12:33 pm

    Hi Lance,
    Amaz­ing insights, lovely blogs, and great writ­ing (as always!).
    I LOVE this line of yours, “I find deep per­sonal mean­ing in this life from liv­ing in a place that con­nects my heart and soul out­ward.“
    Beau­ti­ful.
    I love that the motion is out­ward, toward oth­ers, this beau­ti­ful raft of human­ity.
    Thanks for bright­en­ing my day, Lance. Hope all is well your way.
    ~xo
    JaneBeNimble´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..The Rebel Bud­dha in YouMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 26, 2011 at 5:50 am

      Lori,
      I know how you have taken that love that is within your soul and shared it out­wardly. Know that this is some­thing that con­tin­ues to stay with me…your beau­ti­ful soul…shining such love out to the world. That I have been the recip­i­ent of that love.…this is such a beau­ti­ful and mean­ing­ful gift to me.

      Thank you. Always. For being love in this world…

      xoxo

      Reply
  14. Jody - Fit at 53 says:
    January 25, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    Very cool post Lance & I would think that suc­cess is very dif­fer­ent for each per­son but for some similar.

    The quote: Leave the world a bet­ter place..

    I think deep down I would like to do this.… I want to suc­ceed at things myself but more I want to help peo­ple & leave them with a bet­ter feel­ing of them­selves & just a world that is a bet­ter place to live in.
    Jody — Fit at 53´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Whys of Weight Loss-Gain or No MovementMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 26, 2011 at 5:55 am

      Jody,
      What a beau­ti­ful view of suc­cess!! If we can some­how leave this world just a lit­tle better…what a gift we are giv­ing. And the beauty of that is that there are just an unlim­ited num­ber of ways we can do that!!

      Keep shin­ing Jody!!

      Reply
  15. Amy MacLeod says:
    January 25, 2011 at 2:51 pm

    Lance, your wise old soul shines through with such readi­ness to give to oth­ers. Thank you for this syn­op­sis of suc­cess — likely it took a great deal of time and effort to be able to put this together. These are busy peo­ple who obvi­ously know the pri­or­i­ties for liv­ing a whole-istic life.
    Amy MacLeod´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..What the Blog am I DoingMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 26, 2011 at 5:57 am

      Amy,
      It was truly an honor to have these won­der­ful folks share their thoughts on suc­cess with me. And in it all, their words each reached to my soul…each in their own unique way.

      And it’s a gift to have you here in this space, too. Amy, thank you for your pres­ence and your beau­ti­ful spirit…

      Reply
  16. Zeenat{Positive Provocations} says:
    January 25, 2011 at 3:08 pm

    Lance, Love the list! Some I know and love…and some oth­ers I will have to look for­ward to read­ing and get­ting to know.
    Thank you for shar­ing these awe­some peo­ple!
    Much Love,
    Z~
    Zeenat{Positive Provocations}´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..How to let the Ego GO and Cre­ate Har­mo­nious RelationshipsMy Profile

    Reply
  17. Jean Burman says:
    January 25, 2011 at 3:33 pm

    Hi Lance :-)
    I love that Emer­son quote. We placed it on my father’s epi­taph. He was such a man as this. I miss him every day.

    Yes we do need to find the deeper mean­ing as life unfolds for us. Humans are not designed for a shal­low exis­tence. We are each made uniquely dif­fer­ent. All with our own tal­ents and abil­i­ties to offer. Our oblig­a­tion here on planet earth is to dis­cover that unique­ness [what makes us dif­fer­ent] and share it with the world. This needs to be our only modus operandi here.

    So great to read about these impres­sive peo­ple all out there doing what they do best. I espe­cially loved Kind­ness Girl and those amaz­ing pho­tographs! Thanks so much for shar­ing them here… along with [of course] your own words of unique wis­dom. They always find their way home!
    Best wishes
    Jean x
    Jean Burman´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Is Con­tented Bet­ter Than HappyMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 26, 2011 at 6:02 am

      Jean,
      Your father sounds like such a won­der­ful soul. Thank you so much for shar­ing that here.

      And I want you to know that I see this in you, too. Jean, you have this beau­ti­ful spirit of joy that I sense every time we inter­act. Know that this reaches to my soul, and is deeply spe­cial to me — this gift of YOU that you give to me.

      Any­way, know that you shine so won­der­fully in my eyes..

      Keep being awe­some!!
      Lance
      xoxo

      Reply
  18. Little Lessons Under the Big Sky says:
    January 25, 2011 at 10:03 pm

    Hi Lance,
    I just fill with grat­i­tude as I read down everyone’s def­i­n­i­tion of suc­cess. I love that there is a place that exudes such pos­i­tive energy in the cyber­world of much weed­ing out the “junk” and neg­a­tiv­ity! Thank you for that, and for shar­ing this post with us!

    Suc­cess: 1. Hav­ing my chil­dren tell me they love me. 2. Walk­ing the dog and watch­ing his quiet body relax. 3. Sip­ping a glass of wine with my hus­band after get­ting through some very hard days of sick chil­dren and appre­ci­at­ing how healthy they nor­mally are. 4. Play­ing music that res­onates with chil­dren who need it most. 5. Tug­ging into bed at night, know­ing I gave my life, my fam­ily, my work, and myself my very very best.

    I could go on and on. Suc­cess to me is simul­ta­ne­ous with grat­i­tude. I am oh, so grate­ful!
    Wish­ing you EVERY def­i­n­i­tion of suc­cess, Lance!
    Love,
    Jen
    Lit­tle Lessons Under the Big Sky´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Den Chron­i­cles– The winds of changeMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 26, 2011 at 7:14 am

      Jen,
      I’m sorry to hear how sick your chil­dren have been. Not fun for anyone.

      And what a beau­ti­ful view on suc­cess! Know­ing you are loved (espe­cially by those clos­est to you), and con­nect­ing to that “best” in you. Mmmm.…wonderful. (and…that glass of wine works for me, too!).

      Being grate­ful for the gifts in our life, for the gifts in us…such beau­ti­ful success…

      Jen, know that you are loved from afar too…

      Much, much love to you…
      Lance
      xoxo

      Reply
  19. Holly Latty-Mann says:
    January 25, 2011 at 11:42 pm

    Lance, where is YOUR pic­ture and quote to round us up to a dozen? For all the peo­ple who’ve com­mented to this and ear­lier posts, I say that I am hum­bled to be included here, given I have read scores of your com­ments to Lance’s var­i­ous posts, all amaz­ingly artic­u­late and tal­ented. Lance, you per­son­ify suc­cess because you give every­one an oppor­tu­nity to express their own and grow in that direc­tion. Thanks for shar­ing the fruits of your labor on this most com­plex topic. We appre­ci­ate you.
    Holly

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 26, 2011 at 7:18 am

      Holly,
      Ha!!! (and…you are sweet, thank you!!)

      And just know, Holly, that it is such an honor for me to know you. What a gift you are in my life!

      And…you’re right — there are so many peo­ple who fre­quent this site who are filled with success.…deep and mean­ing­ful suc­cess. This post could become a book!

      Any­way, thank you, Holly, for impart­ing your beau­ti­ful wis­dom here. Always. (oh, and by the way — you SHINE “peace­ful joy” so wonderfully!!)

      Reply
  20. Natalia says:
    January 26, 2011 at 7:02 am

    Hi Lance!

    Well I think that my def­i­n­i­tion of suc­cess in career, is, doing what you love! The prob­lem I’m hav­ing is find­ing what I truly love to do. I spent years and years behind a desk doing a job that I absolutely hated and that is fail­ure for sure!

    Suc­cess in life.…loving what you have! Being thank­ful every­day for what God has blessed me with.

    I’m still work­ing on all of it! I get caught up look­ing at every­one else’s success.…thinking that’s where my suc­cess is too.

    Hugs!
    Natalia :)
    Natalia´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Blog AwardMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 26, 2011 at 7:22 am

      Natalia,
      …and within these so-called fail­ures, there is also suc­cess. There is, because you know some­thing which doesn’t res­onate with you (I sense that very much!).

      And — lov­ing what you have.…that reminds me of the say­ing “I wish you enough”. It reminds me that what I have, it IS enough. And when I focus on what brings mean­ing to me — it’s not about hav­ing more, it’s about hav­ing that which is mean­ing­ful (which often isn’t material…).

      …and it is a journey…

      Natalia, thank you so much for shar­ing all of this. And it is so, so good to have you here. What a gift you are!

      Much love and big hugs,
      Lance

      Reply
  21. Tim says:
    January 26, 2011 at 10:54 am

    Lance:

    Thank you for shar­ing these def­i­n­i­tions of suc­cess from some very tal­ented indi­vid­u­als — includ­ing yours. It just goes to show you how each of us defines suc­cess dif­fer­ently. I would agree with a lot of what was men­tioned above…me, I would prob­a­bly define suc­cess as being able to live our lives in a way that’s reflec­tive of our val­ues and liv­ing up to our poten­tial. I’m still work­ing toward my suc­cess, but I have a lot of great pos­i­tive influ­ences that will help me get there. Thanks again for a great post!
    Tim´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Peo­plescape Part 3– The PresentationMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 27, 2011 at 5:36 am

      Tim,
      I love that…positive influ­ences to help you move toward your suc­cess!!! Life is pretty won­der­ful when we con­nect with oth­ers in mean­ing­ful ways.

      Tim, it is always good to have you here.…

      Reply
  22. Angelia Sims Hardy says:
    January 26, 2011 at 5:09 pm

    Suc­cess — know­ing and rel­ish­ing — JOY — in it’s purest form. Hear­ing a laugh. A know­ing smile. Squeez­ing a hand. You’ve suc­ceeded when you KNOW how every moment is a trea­sure. Each lit­tle thing that has deep meaning.

    Beau­ti­ful words Lance! Can’t wait for you book :-) .
    Angelia Sims Hardy´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Halfway ThereMy Profile

    Reply
  23. Megan "JoyGirl!" Bord says:
    January 26, 2011 at 7:04 pm

    Lance, hands down this is my favorite post of 2011, and pos­si­bly 2010. Incred­i­ble! How does your mind work that you come up with these cre­ative, AWESOME ideas? And then you share that awe­some­ness with all of us. Holy cats! (And dogs!)

    I think I found two new favorite quotes on suc­cess:
    Yours: “When I love…I suc­ceed…“
    And Rachel Denning’s: “Suc­cess is not a big home, a large income, and all the ‘stuff’ that’s involved in the pea­cock pageant. Suc­cess comes from qui­etly and con­fi­dently liv­ing on pur­pose, mov­ing toward your dreams, and liv­ing sim­ply within your means. It’s the feel­ing you get when you’re liv­ing right.”

    Speech­less, I am.
    Bless you, dear friend; bless you!
    Megan “Joy­Girl!” Bord´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..The Bless­ings of Each New MomentMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 27, 2011 at 5:46 am

      Megan,
      Gosh.…you make me feel soooo good!!! (thank YOU!!!)

      My mind.…perhaps it says “maybe if I can get some­one else to write this.…” (ha!!) Really, though, this came from part of my own real­iza­tion that I can define some­thing one way — and yet, that doesn’t mean it’s the only way. So, it really was won­der­ful to hear from oth­ers who have achieved some level of out­ward suc­cess — and hear from them what truly matters.

      I love what Rachel shared too!! “liv­ing right”…mmm.…wonderful.

      And Megan…I see this so, so much in you…

      Happy Thurs­day dear one!!

      Reply
  24. Mariam says:
    January 27, 2011 at 3:05 am

    Suc­cess in work for me is when you have done every task beyond the expec­ta­tion of your boss and when you reach the goal in every task. And being suc­cess­ful in life for me means hav­ing a great rela­tion­ship with your love ones.
    Mariam´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Impor­tance of Social MediaMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 27, 2011 at 5:47 am

      Mariam,
      Thanks so much for shar­ing your def­i­n­i­tions of success!

      Relationships.…wonderful in every part of our lives…mmmm.…great stuff!

      Reply
  25. Dr. J says:
    January 27, 2011 at 10:16 am

    I think as most peo­ple, I have suc­ceeded in some areas and not in oth­ers. I do have the gift of some inner drive to suc­ceed. I have to remind myself to take the time to reflect on the voy­age. I’ve got­ten bet­ter at that.

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 28, 2011 at 7:36 am

      Dr. J,
      Hav­ing that inner drive to suc­ceed, that is such a good thing. And what­ever “suc­cess” looks like for you, hav­ing that deeper desire to reach that spot…so good. Yes, I think it is really good to reflect, too.… It’s ground­ing for me, when I do that — when I reflect on this jour­ney of mine.…

      Thanks for being here!

      Reply
  26. Peggy Nolan says:
    January 27, 2011 at 2:28 pm

    No doubt, Lance, Seth’s def­i­n­i­tion just hit me in the mid­dle of my soul, “Seth Godin:
    I think you’re suc­cess­ful once you cre­ate work that mat­ters, some­thing that was fright­en­ing to cre­ate and pow­er­ful to behold.”

    I’m in the process of cre­at­ing work that mat­ters, and it is fright­en­ing to cre­ate, but so pow­er­ful to behold. The work I’m doing with step­moms and step­fam­i­lies on The Stepmom’s Tool­box is excit­ing and scary all at the same time.

    Thanks for this!
    Peggy
    Peggy Nolan´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Photo Fri­day Project – MACROMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 28, 2011 at 7:39 am

      Peggy,
      I’m so excited for you, and for the gifts you are giv­ing through deeply con­nect­ing to work that mat­ters. So, while it might be fright­en­ing, it is also amaz­ing and beautiful.

      Awesome-ness!! (that’s YOU and what you are doing)

      Reply
  27. Jannie Funster says:
    January 31, 2011 at 6:38 am

    What a way to start my day, Lsnce!

    So many great peeps here.

    I like Seth Godin’s line. Sim­ple. Clear. Effec­tive. As soon as I get out of bed I’ll make some cof­fee hap­pen, then have a real hap­penin’ day.

    Action, Baby! Suc­cess is in the doing — the trying.

    Happy day.

    Xo
    Jan­nie Funster´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Kit-Kat– Then &amp Now — in 55 wordsMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 31, 2011 at 4:00 pm

      Jan­nie,
      What a way for me to start my 4 o’clock hour…with YOU!!!

      Happy hap­penin’ day!! (which I think you have LOTS of!)

      Plenty of sun­shine comin’ our way!
      xoxo

      Reply
  28. Holly Latty-Mann says:
    January 31, 2011 at 8:00 am

    Here is today’s Daily Inspi­ra­tion from Alan Cohen: “Ease will take you to suc­cess faster and more effi­ciently than strug­gle.” Per­haps this is the power of faith at work when we are beset with mul­ti­ple challenges…solutions become more appar­ent. I think there is also a cer­tain amount of healthy accep­tance in play here, the stuff St. Fran­cis of Assissi encour­ages us to do.

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      January 31, 2011 at 4:02 pm

      Holly,
      Thanks so much for stop­ping back and shar­ing this very sage advice.

      Mmmm.…how often have I “strug­gled”, only to ease back a bit…and make progress!!!

      And PLAY…I’m all for it!!!

      Reply
  29. steven papas says:
    March 1, 2011 at 3:49 pm

    thanks a lot Lance. Very inspir­ing pre­sen­ta­tion. Rachel Denning’s approach to suc­cess really got into me. Liv­ing for a pur­pose, liv­ing right is what I also believe. Find­ing a pur­pose worth liv­ing for is so vital.
    steven papas´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..World Of War­craft Collector’s Edi­tion ReviewMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lance says:
      March 1, 2011 at 8:42 pm

      Steven,
      Hav­ing a purpose…that makes this life jour­ney of ours so much more meaningful.

      (and I loved Rachel’s words, too…)

      Great to have you here!

      Reply
  30. Andrew Walker says:
    August 7, 2011 at 5:19 am

    Hi there. Thanks a lot for shar­ing this. It’s a really really inter­est­ing arti­cle!
    Andrew Walker´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Fin­ish Line CouponsMy Profile

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How to let the Ego GO and Create Harmonious Relationships « *Positive Provocations* says:
    January 25, 2011 at 6:03 am

    […] view, see things the way they see, under­stand life as it has revealed itself to them. Rela­tion­ships flour­ish through this open non­judg­men­tal stance. Espe­cially as we no longer feel the need to crib or carp, […]

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