How Do You Spell Success?

A person who is illiterate can look at a word without knowing what it means. Perhaps he can recognize the shape of some of the letters; perhaps she even knows that certain of these shapes are representative of certain sounds; still, the veil cannot be pierced. Each written word (‘success’, for example) becomes an arcane mystery like Egyptian Hieroglyphics before the discovery of the Rosetta stone. There is a code that enables a person to see and understand the meaning of a word, but, for the illiterate, it is a secret and undiscovered code.

For most people, success (the actuality…not the word) may as well be an arcane secret. Success might as well be a word written in Hieroglyphics. Like the illiterate person who can look at the written word ‘success’ and not know how to translate it into their spoken language, the average person can look at the ideal of success and not know how to translate it into their day-to-day life or reality.

It is a shocking and sad fact that about 20% of people over the age of 15 (or almost 1 billion adults) remain illiterate and cannot discern the secrets of written language, cannot see the word success and read it or translate into a spoken word; but it is even more shocking that over 90% of people are in the dark when it comes to being able to discover the secret of applying the word—success. They can look at the word and read it; they can even say it; however, they are unable to translate it into a meaningful and applicable message.

These people are also functionally illiterate. The word success has no real meaning.

It may as well be another word, any other word…like ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ (from the song in the movie ‘Mary Poppins’). It can be read; it can be said; but it has no meaning. It is nonsensical.

It may even be fun to say it, but it has no real meaning. This is how the word success is for most people…it is fun to say (it sounds nice to the ear), it is repeated over and over again (like a song lyric), but it has no real meaning.

Close your eyes. How do you spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? Now, what does it mean? Define it. Achieve it.

Close your eyes. How do you spell success? What does it mean? How do you define it?
How do you achieve it? 

Some people imagine success means having more.
I imagine that success means enjoying more.

Some people imagine that success is defined as greater accumulation.
I imagine that success is defined as greater contribution.

Some people imagine success is achieved by doing more.
I imagine that success is achieved by becoming more.

Some people imagine that it is spelled succe$$.
I imagine that success is spelled with 3 ‘c’s (see below).

Clarity, Constancy and Congruency of ideal, purpose, belief, passion, intent, thought and action are necessary to create (spell) success.

This is how I spell success...

Sincerity is genuineness and authenticity. You are you; you are true.
Unique is distinctness and exclusivity. You are special; you are one of a kind.
Clarity is lucidity and preciseness. You are clear; you know what you are about.
Constancy is fidelity and persistence. You stay the course; you persist.
Congruency is harmony and accordance. You are whole and holistic in word and deed.
Excellence is quality and worth. You give or produce value.
Spirit is strength and élan. You know that the inner reality creates the outer reality.
Service is benefit and sacrament (to make sacred). You are a gift and you offer you.

Success is the ideal you define; it is the purpose you live; it is the way you walk through life; it is the passion that drives you; it is the joy that you derive from each day; it is the gratitude you feel and express for the gift of life and the opportunity to be, do and have that which you aspire to; success is the way you become. To be successful is to be self-actualized. You don’t have success. You don’t do success. You be success.

Those are some of my thoughts on success. I’ll leave you with some other thoughts from some successful folks.

"People are anxious to improve their circumstances but unwilling to improve themselves, they therefore remain bound." –James Allen

“What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.”—Bob Dylan

"If money is your hope for independence and success, you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability." –Henry Ford

"Success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It's what you do for others." –Danny Thomas

"The man who does not work for the love of work but only for money is not likely to make money nor to find much fun in life." –Charles Schwab

"Someday I hope to enjoy enough of what the world calls success so that someone will ask me, "What's the secret of it?" I shall say simply this: "I get up when I fall down." –Paul Harvey

"If you want to be successful, it's just this simple. Know what you are doing. Love what you are doing. And believe in what you are doing." –Will Rogers

"There are only two real requirements for success in life. The first requirement is deciding exactly what you want. Most people never get to that point. They never decide exactly what they want in life, and because of this they simply go around in circles. The second requirement, after a person has decided what he wants, is determining the price he's going to have to pay to get it and then resolving to pay that price.” -H. L. Hunt

All of the above may be insightful and even, perhaps helpful and inspirational; but the most important thing of all is this…what are your thoughts on success??????

What is your ideal? What is your belief? What is your purpose? What is your passion? What exactly is your intent?

What is your passion? What is your purpose? What are you idealizing? What are you becoming? To what end do you journey through life? Each day? Each moment?

Answer these questions and you will know and have success. You will have found the key to translate the previously indecipherable and inapplicable to your life. Success will now have real meaning.