IF YOUR SUCCESS IS NOT ON YOUR OWN TERMS,
IF IT LOOKS GOOD TO THE WORLD BUT DOES NOT FEEL GOOD IN YOUR HEART, IT IS NOT SUCCESS AT ALL.
(Anna Quindlen)
I was pretty sure my life would look different than most of the people I knew. Not that there was anything wrong with what anyone had or did; it just didn't feel right to me, for me. It felt like I was wearing a heavy coat that was too big, that pulled me down, that made my shoulders slump and sag.
I struggled and shrugged and wormed my way out of that coat. And once I was out...I was cold and scared and kinda lonely. I had no pre-formed ladder of success to climb, no one to follow, and little encouragement. But I knew I was doing the right thing.
So I set to work building my own ladder of success - okay, it's rickety and sometimes it goes horizontal instead of vertical but it's all mine. I look for and find people who live and believe and strive the way I do, the way I want to. And encouragement? Support? Have you met my husband? :)
When I worry that I'll never "make it," that my novels will never be on bookstore shelves, my husband reminds me that even if those things never happen, I'm already a success because I live my life on my own terms, I live my life pursuing my passion.
What does success mean to you? Define it for yourself today, this week and start living it, or keep living it, and know we're all with you.
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