The Number 1 Way to Be Able to Declare: "I Am a Success"

At various stages in your life, you may have taken a step back to reflect upon your successes.  Now that you are retired or nearing retirement, you may ask yourself, “Now what?”  You may even wonder if the word “success” is still a part of your life. 
Motivational speakers, more often than not, describe success based on their experiences.  For instance, Maya Angelou, acclaimed author, believed success is about enjoying your work.  Deepak Chopra, spiritual teacher, believes success is a matter of constant growth.  And then there’s the popular author, Stephen Covey’s definition of success.  He states, “Success is deeply individual.”  I agree with each of these definitions and can definitely see how they fit into life at any stage.  As a senior, it is Earl Nightingale’s definition of success that speaks to me.

According to Earl Nightingale, “success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal. “If a man is working towards a predetermined goal and knows where he is going, that man is a success.  If he’s not doing that, he’s a failure.” 

He also states:
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The only person who succeeds is the person who is
realizing a worthy ideal.  It is the person who says, “I’m going to do this and begins to work towards that goal. A success is the person who is teaching
school because that’s what he or she wants to do.
The successful person is the women who is a wife and mother
because she wanted to become a wife and mother and is doing
a good job at it.  A success is anyone who is doing 
deliberately a predetermined job because that is what 
he decided to do deliberately.

I am a fan of Earl Nightingale’s definition of success. His definition allows one to step out on faith towards success without the fear of failure.  I deliberately work towards a worthy ideal that is defined by me and I am successful!  I deliberately choose to watch for opportunities and act on them when they call my name.  I deliberately choose to be me and do me…and not conform and act like everyone else.  Whether it is my faith, my finances, my fashion style or my fitness, I deliberately choose not to become the stereotypical senior citizen and succumb to “old age”.  I deliberately choose my worthy ideals, the course I will take and proceed accordingly.  In other words, I deliberately choose to be me and do me…and not conform and act like everyone else.   
 
What are you doing now?  What do you want to do?  All you have to do is set the wheels in motion, decide what your worthy ideals are, continue to pursue them and voila, you are a success.  This makes success never ending…a continuous journey that is as exciting as you want it to be.  
 
Deliberately decide on a worthy ideal…your predetermined goal.  Is it to travel more?  Is it to volunteer?  Or is it to write that book that you were too busy to write when you were younger?  It’s up to you to be deliberate and decide your success as a senior.  Decide now! Don’t conform…be you.  Choose your worthy ideal, proceed, and continue.  You’ve got this!!!
 
 
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
                                                                                  Galatians 6:9