Irrational success

Whenever you hear about "the next big thing," the creator and whomever plans to market it may have very different ideas about success and failure. Why does one person have to be right? Step back a moment.  Realize ideas of success are subjective, and based on more than one reference point.  What you think may differ. You may not care about the up-and-coming thing at all either.

For example, Microsoft spent millions to develop 'Internet Explorer' and then gave it away. If you thought Microsoft lost big money on this venture, you may assume it was a failure.  Yet, if you consider what the company learned in the process of development, the resulting increase of general Internet users, and prospective Microsoft clients, you would likely see the situation very differently. Maybe true success involves more than mere financial gain? What about intangibles?

Consider books like Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time  and classic tales like Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace have been much-discussed best-sellers, yet how many people do you know who have read them? Is success measured by the notoriety of an author or theme more than by what is read? Does the nature and endurance of related socio-cultural debate count for something?

If you think back, inventions by people flop in the marketplace yet, are picked up and adapted by others who reshape or remodel items and experience success. Consider Xerox invented the mouse, Apple popularized it, and Microsoft ran away with that show.  Karl Benz invented the practical automobile, but Henry Ford got organized to produce assembly line cars. The rest, as they say, is history.

And what about a company like Napster that was so successful overnight that it was banned and the backer company went under?  At the same time, look at how the global music industry and accessibility to recordings are changing as the result. If this kind of stunt seems to undermine the status quo, and forces a system to adapt to changing markets and customer needs, could business failure also be perceived as a sacrifice for the greater good?

The above examples reveal how notions of success and failure aren't as clear as you may think.  Inventions don't all undergo a standard assessment before universal acceptance or rejection.  What is best for whom and why doesn't always explain the market reaction.  People won't necessarily use an invention just because it exists, but they may choose to use it for what it stands for or, for the potential it represents concerning other matters. We benefit from intuiting a wider context. What you think is irrational may make perfect sense to others and vice versa.  

Ripple in a calm brook

Some people believe the most rewarding endeavours are those than enrich the lives of others.  Even if you never meet the people whose lives you change, it may make you feel successful to know you made a positive difference in other lives. What if you could identify those pursuits that provide you with large, personal fulfillment while you also offer something for the greater good? Connectedness to people shapes us throughout life.  You may underestimate your impact.

Consider your career, relationships, friends, even how you acknowledge stangers reveals how you value emotional investments.  Ask yourself how these gestures are returned or not.  Would this be the only way you would measure success, that you received back exactly what you gave out?  It may also be an experience to value other people by recognizing how they experience your compassion and goodwill. What do they get from your generosity? Is it a ripple in a calm brook?

Success is a sensation that can transform a sense of failure into satisfaction and abundance for people you help with time, financial assistance or other immeasurable resources.  Any superficial attempts to make acceptable choices would never compete with your inner passions.  Your heart and spirit are more than will power. As you share that, you can assist otehrs to redefine their potial and their own view of success. Empowering others is a meaningful form of success. 

Angel seeker

A science-based world may lead you to desire proof of the existence of guardian angels.  For some people, proof would be a visual confirmation.  Seeing is believing? What about those people who choose not to believe their eyes or ears?  Other perception may also be convincing.

What if some of the key proof about guardian angels could be offered silently? Consider how you find the ability to cope with crises life throws you. What if the most meaningful gift from above is empowering?  As guardian angels assist you to regain control, you learn to help yourself, to develop resilience, to calm unsettled stress, and learn to see your life circumstances differently.

What is it that may convince you that a particular mess will not go on forever?  The more you trust in Forces beyond you, the more you'll discover you strengthen your self-acceptance and inner coping mechanisms.  What do you trust to guide your decisions? Intuition?  

No matter what your circumstances, you're aware of the external weather around you.  Come rain, snow, sleet or hail, you manage to survive and get through it.  Imagine this partly reflects how you feel inside or reflects what you aspire to experience.  Although you may sense a few things about your life, you may not yet connect with what you're really thinking.   Angels may help there.  Open your mind.  Become a soul seeker.  Its never too late to start!

Choose insanity wisely

How you think determines what you do now and how your life will evolve into the future. If you're foolhardy, or you act based on senselessness, where would you be headed? Your thinking influences mindset and virtually everything you perceive.  Do you realize the wider implications of this? Would you pretend to ignore how your attitudes are slowly revealing themselves and why? How you think matters.

As you reflect back on your childhood, you recall absorbing much of what you were told. You listened to parents, relations, teachers, mentors and role models in your community. Recall what they told you? Local police may have done a presentation at your school about road safety and how to cross the road when the pedestrian light turns green. A church minister or other religious authority may have drilled commandments or other standards into you head. Teachers and principals ingrained those school rules. Caregivers may have disciplined you for bickering with siblings of friends, or not doing what you were told. Which memories come rushing back?

As an adult, you were likely apt to analyze or question rules learned early on. You may walk across the street talking on your mobile phone regardless of the pedestrian lights. You may be rushing around so much and live a life that mutes the impact of religion as the guide it might've been. Being out of school has taught you rules of survival, approval and reward differ greatly in the real world. You may or may not keep in touch with siblings.  What do your past interactions teach you? How do your reactions to rules in society reflect your true personality and aptitudes?

What you do with what you know gives you hints about how you value or apply what you have learned. Where do your current perspectives and values stem from? Why do they matter to you? Other people may think you're crazy. How do previous life experiences shape you? Everything you have done makes you who you are.   Nothing is meaningless.  You'll eventually arrive wherever you're meant to arrive.  When you get there, what you learn along the way and how is up to you.

The time comes when each person arrives at a crossroads. You’re confronted with continuing along the lines of what role models have taught or, you’re prompted to develop the courage and inclination to redefine what you stand for. This includes values and principles, and what seems right or wrong for the person you are now.

Suddenly, what you learned before may be irrelevant. You may struggle to figure out why you think differently. As you start to question things you learned in the past, this may be a sign of growth and the prospect of positive change. The choices you made in the past were based on who you were and how you thought then. If you feel defeated, you may also be ready to think in new ways based on lessons learned. What you did before didn't work. Situations you face now could be new. Where would you seek alternative standards for your ethics, morals and behaviors?

Turning to nature isn’t uncommon. After all, animals behave in ways that may have some appeal. What would you choose to emulate? You can look at how specific species love, nurture and protect their kin, or trigger conflict. You can consider priorities of survival and companionship.  The choices are as vast as you imagine.

Then again, perhaps you would determine what feels right will benefit other people. Which kinds of choices would be preferable and for whom? Rather than act impulsively, you may be concerned with causes and wider consequences. How could you make the world a better place because of a path you follow? Decisions may be grounded in faith.  Your view of 'normal' may be someone else's idea of insanity.

Define your mission from here

If you're involved in business ventures, and feel like things aren't going you're way, or you've been having a hard time of it, you may be wondering what it would take to make new progress.  You're not alone.  How many people have taken courses on 'how to lose or fail well?' This isn't what business training and seminars will typically tell you.  Maybe its time to think differently?

Much like Dr. Henry Cloud in his 2006 book, Integrity, my own experience and beliefs have taught me character and personality contribute more to business success or problems than skills or know-how.  You may have experienced situations where colleagues didn't notice or sense the need to make character changes, and you felt the brunt of it.  You may ignore personality issues inside yourself or fail to notice the impact of the character around you in your own office.

Results matter and sales turnover speaks volumes.  However, there is more to evaluating a position, a company or a colleague than dollars and cents. How do you break down expenses? That is, how do you understand the costs of having certain people in your office based on their behavior and interaction internally and externally?  Think about yourself too.  In which ways do you contribute to the overall value of your workplace, your career and your sense of esteem?

1) When do you sense a glass ceiling or a barrier?  If you sense you're stuck in a role or position that doesn't enable you to show your true colours, ask yourself why you're there.  You may be ill-prepared to manage situations effectively, have superiors that react negatively to you or, your personality may cause more harm than good.  Your goal needs to steer toward positive change.

2)  How often do you re-group?   You may have known people who refuse to let go of an agenda even if its dated or doesn't take into account key issues.  Not attaining the progress you desire on your terms is also reason to step back, re-group your thoughts, consult with people for advice, and realize that your way isn't necessarily the right wau or the prefereable way to go.   

3)  Why you known success then lost it?  Administration, liquidation or bankruptcy might come up to cause you to lose your sense of bearings.  How might a hypothetical or real disaster help you to better understand your stengths and weaknesses? Robert Kiyosaki, Donald Trump, P.T. Barnum, Henry Ford, Walt Disney and Conrad Hilton, are people who know what its like to live and lose everything.  This fueled their determination to learn from lessons and rebuild their lives. All of them gained insight from financial trouble, filed bankruptcy, and then picked themselves up to redefine their successes.