Success Feels Good When it Happens Frequently…

A few years ago (2011 to be exact) I stumbled upon a post written by my girl, Jodie Patterson of DooBop.com. It was beautiful. It was powerful. It was timeless. So timeless that it still inspires me today. Titled “Success Feels Good When it Happens Frequently,” this piece was just what I needed to jump start my week. Just thought I’d spread the love and share it with you:

Beauties,

Success is tricky. For a number of reasons.

Exhibit A:  It’s not something you can do on your own.  It just isn’t something one can grind out solo, in the dark, with out partner or assistant.  Success absolutely is not a single person process.  No matter how you slice it, true success, the kind we revel in and notice, the kind that defines our character and our life, the kind that sets the individual apart – ironically is not solely about the individual.

Great success demands partnership and collaboration, team efforts, a shared philosophy and most of all a willingness to believe in the other. For that alone, success is hard to come by.  It requires a nice daily commitment to ‘playing nice’.  Possibly, that’s exactly why back in the day parents used that phrase all the time… “Play nice” so perfectly set the tone for one of the most important lessons in life.

We can’t do it alone.

Exhibit B:  Success doesn’t always make us feel successful.  One can have that big win, yet feel like there is still more to accomplish.  One can have profound recognition from work yet have the burning desire to do more in life.  One can win the Grammy yet deeply need the next one coming.

Singular success just doesn’t do it.  In fact, it’s a total a buzz killer, a mind fuck.

I believe it’s the continuous successes we achieve spread out in various areas of our lives, the obvious big ones plus the little ones that sometimes only a few people know about – that actually tell our brain YOU ARE GREAT!   Continuous successes make us believe in ourselves and actually feel our own power.  I’m just recently understanding this…

What I’m saying is: be that driven, focused, superstar that devotes 10,000 hours to your craft and by all means win that trophy.  BUT, also learn to drive stick-shift late in life, be the main reason your kid makes it through the horrible teenager years alive, master a new language, write a book, build a table with your hands and some tools, earn a black belt, get ill in Yoga, adopt a child, have a break through with another adult, have a break through with yourself.  And, yes, do all of these things, every single one of them, spread out over the course of your life.

Success can be tricky. But, OMG it’s worth it!

“Sula was different. The women knew it.  The men knew it.  Sula fascinated and frightened them.  She affected their lives like a lightening storm on a dusty summer day.” –Toni Morrison

-Jodie