Day 11: Failure and Success

There is this guy named Jim Rohn.  You may have heard of him.  He has this speech he gives on The Art of Exceptional Living.  It is a really good motivational talk, and I would recommend it to anyone.  He was kind of the personal development/business guru of the 1970s and 1980s (kind of an earlier version of Stephen Covey).  Anyway, he has this great, great, great definition of failure and success.  Basically, he says that failure is making a few bad decisions consistently over time.  Success, on the other hand, is making a few good choices consistently every single day. 

As soon as I heard this, it completely changed my perception of success and failure.  See, I thought that success was always the sum total of everything that we have done.  If you had a lot of money when you died, you were successful.  That if you worked really hard at something and finally achieved it, you were successful.  I think this is what most people would say success is.  According to Mr. Rohn, however, it is not the sum total of your life experience that determines your success in life, but rather it is the daily choices you make on a consistent basis. 

I think this make so much sense because, in reality, who we really are in life is who we are on a day-to-day basis, regardless of whether we end up being wealthy, or an Olympic gold medalist, or the CEO of the company.  I remember reading an article about President Lyndon Johnson.  A lot of people thought he was a great president.  I do not know if he actually was, but that is what some people say.  The article I read told about what a jerk he was to people, and how he would do extremely inconsiderate things to his personal staff and subordinates.  If these claims are true, I am not sure he was really all that successful.  I mean, who cares if you are the President of the United States if the people you are closest to don't like you or respect you?  I just don't think you are successful solely because of the amazing things you did.  I do know, though, that you are a failure if those close to you don't want to be close to you.

Of course, we all have things we are working on (though, by some of the stories I have heard, President Johnson had a LOT of things to work on), and working on those things are part of our becoming successful.  But I am starting to think that living in the present, instead of always living for the future, may be a key to my happiness.  If we live in the future, the consequences of our actions are, for the most part, in the future as well. 

For example, people say "if I work hard now, I will have money later."  I think this is the wrong way to think of things.  Sure, working hard may yield immediate benefits, but you may not see those benefits because you have your eye set on something bigger and better in the future (wealth).  A better thing to say is "working hard makes me feel useful and productive and will lead to my success."  Saying this recognizes that there are immediate benefits to working hard, such as fulfillment, enjoyment of a challenge, desire to help others, etc., etc., etc.  It also recognizes that success, by making good judgments day-by-day, will ultimately lead to the success that we generally recognize as success.  The person who works hard, is happy about their day's labor, and then goes back and does it again the next day will ultimately achieve wealth and happiness.  The person who exercises patience with, say, his child, receives the immediate satisfaction of knowing that he has not let a two-year-old dictate to him what his feelings will be (say, anger and resentment), but also gets the long-term benefit of a loving and caring relationship with his child. 

Anyway, this entire philosophy has been explained to say one thing:  I did it again!  I successfully withstood the evils of temptation.  This is what I came home to today:

Yes, that is right, pumpkin cookies and fresh, homemade caramel.  No, I am not so bad as to dip the pumpkin cookie in the fresh caramel (the carmel was for apples).  Seriously, though, sometimes I wonder what on earth Emily is thinking.  I think she is trying to help me overcome my weaknesses through feats of mental strength.  If that is the case, thank you Emily, it is WORKING!  This is what I had instead:

Yes, that is right, cold edamame to the connoisseur of Japanese cuisine, soy beans to the rest of us.  Sorry the picture isn't very clear, but it doesn't really matter.  Even if it was clearer, it would not be any more appetizing.  I realized while eating edamame that I hate it, and that I still like pumpkin cookies and fresh, homemade caramel.  But you know what else I realized?  I don't need to eat pumpkin cookies, or caramel, or edamame to be happy.  In fact, I don't need any food to make me happy.  Failure is making a few bad decisions consistently over time.  Success is making a few good choices consistently every single day.  Today?  Today was success.