Success. It's different for everyone, yet everyone wants it. But sometimes beneath the surface lurks an attitude of destructive pride and selfishness which I call Success Excess.
Everyone wants to enjoy as much success as possible. Yet success cannot be enjoyed when it is defined by what someone else is doing or not doing. Consider this promotional copy for a new business book: "You want to keep up with the Joneses, be my guest. You want to trounce the Joneses, don't just read this book, act on it." What is that all about? Selling books of course. Still, I'm tired of the attitude that says, "No matter what you do, it's insignificant because I've done it better, and made more money at it."
(And how about the Lending Tree online mortgage banking services commercial where dad tells viewers that he has a gorgeous house, a wife, a few kids, a pool, a great lawn, an SUV and a country club membership, all of which he maintains because he says, "I'm in debt up to my eye balls.")
Blah blah blah. Let's get out of the sand box.
Success can be enjoyed for a lifetime when you use your particular talents and gifts to honor your Creator, enjoy your life and provide for your family. Satisfaction with your accomplishments simply because they are "better" than someone else's is an illusion. It's Success Excess.
What's the antidote? Success and Be Blessed. Catchy yes, but it's more than a rhyme. It's a lifestyle. As an Indie thinketh, so he or she is. So if you think about making the most of your abilities, you probably will. If you then purpose to help someone else do the same, you probably will again. And then you can denounce Success Excess once and for all, and live the Success and Be Blessed lifestyle.
After all, do you want to be remembered for trouncing the Joneses, or for helping them?
