The Declaration of You BlogLovin' Tour!!!

The Declaration of You has just been published by North Light Craft Books! Declare yourself along with other readers who are getting all the permission they've craved to step passionately into their lives, discover how they and their gifts are unique and uncover what they are meant to do! This post is part of The Declaration of You's BlogLovin' Tour, which I'm thrilled to participate in alongside over 100 other creative bloggers. This week's theme is "SUCCESS"!  Learn more -- and join us! -- by clicking here.

DECLARE YOUR SUCCESS!

If someone had asked me 20 years ago what success looked like to me, I would have quickly answered, “three degrees, a house on the water and a fat retirement fund.”  I recognize now that definition of success was clearly not my own personal definition, but one heavily tainted by immaturity.  Would I ever really want to go to school long enough to obtain three degrees?  NOT!  Houses on the water require lots of maintenance and run a high risk of washing away.  A fat retirement fund would be great (and rather intelligent), but without three degrees might be a little on the skinny side.

“You really don’t know yourself until you are in your ‘40’s.”  Whether I heard this statement first on t.v. or read it in an issue of Cosmo, it has always stuck with me.  I’m 46 this year and I know this statement to be SO true.  Today, if I was asked what my definition of success was, I would know the answer to this question would come from a very personal place that took at least 40 years to get to.  And my answer?  To be true to myself and take joy in my accomplishments.  Plain and simple.

Now, I may not be that person who was driven to climb the corporate ladder or someone who knew from age 5 exactly what they wanted to do with their life, but I have traveled my own journey driven by my desire to create a successful, creative life based on my passions.  So today I ask myself, “Have I done it? Am I a success?”  I answer, “Yes, of course I am! I’ve got a list of accomplishments to prove it!”

I truly believe that success is defined on a very personal level and in order to define it for yourself, you have to let go of all pre-conceived ideas about it.  I also believe that "SUCCESS" is such a big word that it can be extremely overwhelming just to try and define it.  I try to think about it this way:  

If SUCCESS was a fireworks display on the 4^th of July 

and it was shot high up into the sky

 it would explode into a million little successes! 

That is how it works for me.  I no longer try to define the big 'SUCCESS'.  I look at all the smaller things that I have achieved, all of my personal accomplishments, because when I add them all up, it’s BIG to me and I feel good about it!

I thought long and hard about the factors or components that I strongly believe contribute to being a successful person and I've highlighted them here.  Attitude is at the top of the list and so important that it can make or break how successful you could be.  Always be positive and let your light shine! 

Attitude

Be positive, be open, and be grateful for all opportunities that come your way, big and small.  Never believe you are better than the rest, just different.  Be big enough to share your energy and enthusiasm with the world and celebrate the successes of others alongside your own.  Give a lot more than you get because it ultimately circles back and feels darn good in the process!

  

Accomplishment

Reward only comes from true effort.  Do your best so you can go to sleep each night knowing you gave it your best shot.  Know that accomplishments come in many shapes and sizes, some fast, some slow and that EACH ONE MATTERS!  When you accomplish something, enjoy it! Revel in it! Shout it from the rooftops!  Then check it off the list and move onto the next item.  Success grows bigger and shines brighter with each one.

Self-Acceptance

Don’t set unrealistic expectations that encourage unhealthy disappointments.  Perfection is overrated (a personal favorite of mine).  Don’t reject or give up on an unsuccessful attempt because if it was important enough to try once, it deserves a second shot.  Accept all your accomplishments graciously.   Allow yourself to really FEEL that success and BELIEVE that success with each accomplishment.  You have nothing to prove to anyone other than yourself and, when it happens and feels good, know that you deserve it and accept it! 

Innovation

I've been on my own mission to encourage people to create their own personal imagery through easy and simple techniques and share my own experience on how this works for me.  My message to you is:  Innovate! Try new things to generate new ideas!  Take one idea at a time and push it as far as you can.  Before you know it, that one single idea has transformed into a waterfall of opportunities for experimentation and growth that fosters “uniquity”.   When you are satisfied you have exhausted all paths, find a new idea and do it all again.

I am currently in the middle of reading my copy of the Declaration of You! and loving it!  Congratulations Michelle and Jessica on your success!!!!!

Margaret