At the titles suggests, this is indeed my 100th post on this blog.
It seems as good as time as any to reflect back over the length of this blog journey and draw some conclusions as to what has happened over the last 3 and a quarter years since I started this blog, where I'm going and what it all means.
I goes without saying, that this journey, like anyone's, has had it's ups and downs and has been a struggle at times. There is nothing unique about that, and really, in the end, that is exactly what this autobiographical blog is really about. It is meant to show that people, no matter who they are, and what life they lead, are not so different that you. The circumstances way differ wildly but in the end, we are all human, we all struggle to find some reason for our own existence and to find joy in our lives.
What is different, is how we go about it. I've learned enough to know that true success is living a life that brings joy to you and others. Having a lot of money, or fame, or power, doesn't make you successful. Rich and powerful people struggle with having a joy filled life just the same as someone who's waiting tables. Rich people can just buy more and better distractions from their areas of lack and discontent.
So if money, power and fame are not indicators of success, then what is?
Purpose, compassion and love.
If you have a driving purpose in your life, something you truly believe in and are absolutely committed to achieving; if you have a compassion for others and are committed to helping others - in deed not just thought; and if you give and receive love freely, then you can consider yourself successful. These are the building blocks that inevitably bring a sense of joy and a reason for being.
That may sound like a lot of liberal crap but I also find those people who are truly living 'on target', often find those worldly things, such as money, comes easy. But for them money, fame and power are mere tools. Not things to be sought in and of themselves, but simply a means to an end.
To simplify, instead of becoming a leader to become rich, famous and powerful, one becomes a leader, accepting the pay, power and prestige as necessary, in order to make the world a better place.
The other great truth I've found is that it's not about me. It's not about fixing myself so I can be some kind of 'super' person and achieve huge success. It's about finding your God given purpose and then simply (which is easy said than done) getting out of God's way and allow Him to fulfill that purpose through you.
As I reflect back on my life, pretty much every great break-through, if not all of them, were God's doing, not mine. Looking back on it now it's a wonder I ever had this notion that I'm suppose to be some kind of uber-human success machine. When every time I'm in trouble and I reach out to God, and He answers, when He comes powerfully into my life to push it forward, time and again, why would I still think it's about me and what I can do?
Probably because I live in a society where belief in God is no longer trendy, where we are constantly bombarded with the idea of individual success, and where success 'gurus' replace 'God' with 'The Secret' because let's face it, 'God' doesn't sell in the 21st century North America.
The movie, 'The Secret' purposefully skipped a crucial step of the process even though many of the 'guru's in it know it and promote it (although most, like myself until recently, avoid using the term 'God' or water it down greatly to reach more people). That step is this: It's not about the 'universe', IE: God, coming into alignment with you and all your (petty) desires. It's about you coming into alignment with the 'universe', IE: God, and His plan for your life. Once you are in alignment with God and His plan, then, yes, absolutely, He's going to start to make things happen in your life - as long as you remain in action and have faith. If you need more money, more will be on it's way, if you need fame, you won't be able to help but obtain it, that is as long as you remain in alignment and agreement. However, God is going to constantly push you out of your comfort zones and that's where we struggle to remain in agreement with His plan and able to 'receive' as 'The Secret' puts it. 'The Secret' makes it seem as if we can have whatever we want the way we want it. No, not at all. However, if you come into (and stay in) agreement and alignment with God's plan, what you ultimately receive will be greater than whatever you thought you wanted in the first dang place.
So, in conclusion, where I am after over twenty-five years of self-improvement books, tapes, seminars, courses and coaching, three plus years of success blogging and 100 posts in this autobiographical blog? I'm coming into alignment with God's plans for my life and starting to reap the rewards that brings. I have a lot of work to do. Of course I do. I'm still here writing this. The instant my work is done, my lessons learns, then my heavenly Father will call me back. And that's okay, because if I'm called back early because I was an able student, then that, my dear, dear friends, is success. Living until 125 and then running out of gas without ever having understood where I was going, would not be a worthwhile life to live.
Fortunately, since I have not intention of dying soon, I still have a lot of work to do. And as always, this blog, and others, are a part of that work. A look forward to writing another 100 posts.
Preston Squire
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