***SUCCESS

“I can’t give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time.” Herbert Bayard Swope

“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill

The path of success goes through your heart, not your wallet.

My parents trained me that success equals money and the only true measure of value was how much money someone has. I was told that money equals power and respect. There were a few people who were recognized as living lives that contributed to the common good, such as preachers, missionaries, and civil servants. However, these people did not earn the respect that people with bundles of money received. It was a confusing message because I did not understand what money had to do with value and worth. I remember wanting to follow a career as an Outward Bound counselor when I was in college. Helping people find themselves in nature seemed to be a noble use of my time and efforts. My parents thought I had lost my marbles. The only endeavors that would earn their support and love were the pursuit of law, finance, and the medical professions. I certainly can understand their concern that I not be a burden to them and do something with my life that they considered brought honor to the family name. So I rejected my ambitions of outdoor counseling and followed the family edicts, becoming a lawyer instead.

As I followed the path plowed by generations of my family before me, I noticed a gulf between those who were truly happy living lives of service without monetary reward and what I was doing, e.g. trudging a path chasing after influence and monetary success. As a lawyer, I successfully developed and then recovered from an addiction to alcohol. This was not uncommon I later found, because almost 33% of lawyers become addicted to mind and mood altering substances. The only professional group that has a higher addiction rate is dentists. [To date, I have no idea why dentists get to be number one. Being a competitive person, I wanted to be number one.] I served for a number of years as a substance abuse counselor for the State Bar, and was asked on a number of occasions to talk to lawyers about their abuse of alcohol or drugs. These interviews usually had a bomb attached to them, if the lawyer did not seek treatment, the State Bar could investigate the attorney and seek disbarment. These interviews were not often happy.

I was given to frequent moments of reflection on why people, including myself, who were considered by most of society to be successful, were so miserable that they self-medicated themselves into oblivion. What was missing out of their lives that they attempted to fill with alcohol or drugs? I know that for myself that the money was not worth the stress and conflict that lawyers often found. I was acutely aware that most lawyers enter law school with high ideals of helping people, and then graduated with huge debts and the reality of making a living in an unfriendly arena. Even worse, the successful academic would find themselves in the highly competitive world of a law firm, where doing a good job is not enough, one must generate clients and income as well.

The pressures of generating clients and creating income for the firm are immense. I remember well partner meetings discussing partnership shares that resembled a pack of lions fighting over a freshly killed carcass. There was a thin veneer of civility masking primordial instincts wanting more and more of the kill. Younger partners did not feel appreciated, middle level partners fighting to keep their status and generate larger shares, and older partners who oftentimes brought in the client, cuffing the younger lions away with disdain. I thought I was in Hell, and truth be told, I was. If the public only knew what occurred in partners meetings.

The ultimate question then is “what is success and how do we perceive it?” I feel that success is any endeavor that brings satisfaction and fulfillment. If we are to create a society of self-empowered people who are happy and fulfilled, the definition of success must be changed. We have to reorder our thinking to acknowledge that those who provide services that improve our lives are as successful as those who simply generate money. If our planet is to survive, we must revere those who have other graces than money. The world will not continue to support a society that allows people to go without free healthcare, food and shelter and idolizes the wealthy. I am speaking here of a global society, not only the societies of the various countries. The United States is the biggest culprit, but all other countries are guilty of mischaracterizing success as well.

In my life as a healer, I see client after client who has become sick because they do not perceive themselves as “successful.” This is a sure path to misery. They can be doing a wonderful job, have many friends, and yet be miserable. Then there are others who sacrifice their lives to make a lot of money and then wonder why they have no true friends or satisfaction in life. I certainly profit by helping these people change their mind about success, and I have much compassion for those who think happiness lies in the size of their bank account. All of this is a huge lie told by us to ourselves. Until we understand that success comes from how we feel about ourselves, instead of external mileposts like income, net worth and position, we will continue to dance with the demons of stress and addiction.

The answer to the question posed above is that success is simply how we feel about ourselves. Image how life would change for someone that may not make a lot of income if they could look in the mirror and say “I am a success!” and believe it. Imagine how life would be different if people would tell that person how much they are appreciated. If you could change your mind about your definition of success, imagine the ripple effect on your life. It is amazing to see the power of a changed thought. The first thing that would happen is that you would stop comparing yourself to others. Comparing yourself to others is the fruit of the folly tree. All you have to do is declare yourself to be a success and the angst of not living up to the expectations of others falls away. The most successful person in the world is that person who does his or her best on a daily basis. What more can one ask of themselves? How much misery is born from doing your best and judging that is not good enough? It is the shortest path to my table.

My youngest son is a perfect example of someone who is content with who they are. He dropped out of college when he was 18 to pursue his love of snowboarding. He now lives in Montana living hand to mouth and snowboarding to his heart’s content. I know that he sometimes wonders about how life would have been if he had stayed in school, and I tell him that he can always go to school, but he will not always have a body that can snowboard. The power of a human being that is seeking joy in something they love to do is incredible. My parents thought he is a disgrace and that I was a disgrace by not forcing him to finish college and graduate school, etc. etc. I strongly disagree, and believe him to be one of the most successful people I know. He is following his bliss and much happier than trying to live up to the expectations of others.

We must create a society that respects those who are happy. We must create a society that respects those who do not care what other people think. We must create a society that loves and respects those who help others without great reward. We must create a society that loves and respects those who are kind, innocent and compassionate. It would be fantastic if the Nobel Prize went to those who helped others with no reward, the anonymous who reject money in lieu of happiness. I realize that would be a huge shift in consciousness, but if enough people believed in it, these dreams would become reality.

Success must be redefined or we will surely suffer.