Defined

   Who gets to define what success is? I was in a conversation not too long ago and the topic turned to what is success. If I Google successful people, I come up with a wide variety of Thomas Edison bios, instructional material on How to Be a Success, and promos of How to be Successful Without a College Degree. Looking through the list, it is easy to see that the main qualification for success here is financial success or media success. But, is that really the end of the definition? Is that even a good definition?
   Is the mom who bakes 200 cupcakes for PTO a success as she puts every effort possible forth into raising her child? Is the entrepreneur who follows a dream and does not ever meet wealth a success? Is the artist a success for creating the art or for finding a buyer? Do you have to move to a foreign land to be a success? Do you have to make a certain amount of money; is there a minimum and cap to that? I was reading a biography about John Adams and I think that he phrased it quite well “The laws of man may bind him in chains or may put him to death, but they can never make him wise, virtuous or happy.” The laws of man, though he was referring to actual legal systems, are also composed of the unwritten rules. The rules of what society deems what is to be “normal”, “acceptable”, and “successful”. Those laws, they are often separating, divisive, and confusingly defined. If someone fails, how much success does it take to make up for that, to balance it back out? Why does that change for some and the scale seem weighted?
   So, I guess when it boils it down, what is distilled is I question what do I consider to be a success, for me to be a success. I think one reason why it is so hard for me to answer that is that there are multiple points trying to impress upon me their definition. Plus, my finish line seems to keep moving. I no more accomplish one thing and then feel like I need to jump to the next challenge. So with all of that rolling around in my head, it was a struggle to sleep, until I came upon a very short phrase that led me to turn off the light, snuggle into my blanket, and head to sleep. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28. My drive to achieve is part of me, it’s a persistence that has proved to be a boon when I have spent ten hours on an econ exam, when I didn’t want to take the next step, when I wasn’t sure what I was going to do next. But, how sweet those words were, when after the trying and seeking and working and wearing out, “come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Now that’s a definition I can live with.

Dream Chasing Entrepreneur

   That word, entrepreneur, evokes thoughts of an explorer and a pioneer in my mind. The spirit that brought some westward to explore, tame, and shape seems to beat in the hearts of these men and women to start their own business.
    I was thinking about this last week as I wandered through a few local stores. The ladies that own them are there, behind the counter. One I had visited the week before and made a purchase. She remembered me, making sure to try and connect with a customer. It can’t be easy to be the owner, worker, errand runner, and chief bottle washer all at the same time.
   I don’t want to romanticize it unduly, because the truth is that there is a lot of hard work that goes into this. But, there is something so appealing to having a dream and following it through. Maybe that is what really catches my attention when I talk to entrepreneurs. They are dream chasers. How many dreams have we dreamed and turned away from them because of fear? Fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of what others will think. What dream is it that you have? Go be a dream chaser.

The Dreams of a New Year

Now that 2009 has ended and 2010 is well under way, I’ve been thinking about what I would like to accomplish this year. 

I don’t want to follow the typical plans of new years, soon to be cast away, resolutions.  Instead, I would like to establish good goals that are something which will cause me to grow, yet be attainable.  Good goals are rather like objectives, when written well you know what it is that is to be achieved, in what time span, the steps and process that this will take, and what it will look like when it will be accomplished.  So, really this is moving from a dream to a goal to a plan to action.  If you read about goal setting, objective making - experts state that you should tell everyone, it helps to make you more accountable.

So, my first dream is to write my book, hopefully the first of several.  I’m not giving away what it is about or the title, but it has been started.  I’ve never written anything quite this lengthy before and have absolutely no idea if it will ever be published, or even how to go about that.  But, I figure that if God has plans for those words, He can take care of those needs.

My second, and please note that I am really not looking to follow the typical new years resolution plan, but it is to lose weight and be more in shape.  I have been successful in this before with carefully watching calories and then another time by being carefully about proportions.  I’m not quite sure how this one is going to work yet, but to occur it will need a plan of action and help along the way.  Especially on evenings when brownie mix is calling my name, or bread – oh bread and butter….

My third, and these are not really in any particular order, is my study.  This last year was one which was a pruning year for me and then of some new growth.  The pruning hurt by the way.  But, it was by the master pruner, and from that there is new growth and the promise of abundant fruit.  So, in honor of that I think I will not only study, but also grow some grapes.  I do enjoy reading my Bible, but I do not want to just read words and then not remember later what I have read.  Instead, I am seeking to dig in and study God’s Word. 

Three goals for one year, that is not so terrible is it?  Well, here at the starting line it isn’t.  But, as I continue to walk, I will need the encouragement of some, the call to accountability of others.  I hope that you have some dreams which can turn into goals for you this year.