Thank all of you who responded to my last missive suggesting that we might change the word WIN to SUCCEED. All were really thoughtful responses, including one person who shared that the word “lose” the opposite of “win,” didn’t feel as bad to them as the word “failure,” the opposite of “succeed or success.” And I spent some time really feeling into this. Because, if you remember, in my last email, I talked about when we say the word “Win” there is always the word “lose” lurking right next to it in our consciousness. And that when I was thinking of the word “succeed,” the word “failure” didn’t seem to be lurking there. What I felt instead was the phrase, “If at once you don’t succeed, try and try again.”
Now, of course, we often think of failing or failure as the opposite of succeeding, and to fail is tough. No doubt about that. But that little phrase, “If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again,” just clings onto my heart when I continue to think of failing. And then, of course, I think of the story of how Thomas Edison tried and failed 1000 times before he succeeded in inventing the light bulb.
And I read somewhere recently that it takes courage to fail. And that is true. But I feel it’s more than just raw courage. I feel it is the knowledge that we must know even before we start that there is a possibility of failing more than once. And also knowing that the key to succeeding eventually is taking stock in the failure to see what you have learned from this attempt, and then incorporating that knowledge in your next attempt. This way with next attempt, you are using what you’ve learned from the previous "failure." Thus, it becomes a peeling away of the layers that are shrouding the gem of success that already exists in some part of your innate knowingness.
It is like Michelangelo saying that he just chipped away at the marble until he revealed the statue or the angel already existing inside.
Mentioning Michelangelo and Edison is intentional. They were both working at succeeding at what their unique path in this life set out for them. Too often we find ourselves attempting to succeed at what others want for us to succeed at, or what we think will make us a lot of money, or wanting to be as good or better than someone else. If this is our motivation then we can try and try and try again, and we might get some level of success, but usually not that much. Not as much as our hearts are truly asking for us.
Like Matt Damon’s story that I related last time in which he realized how empty it was to receive the Oscar, and how happy he was that he learned this at a young age. He thought how sad it would be to get it in old age and realize then that what he had chased after for his whole life had such little meaning.
Matt Damon has succeeded brilliantly as an actor. And that has been what fulfills him, not the prize. He actually got the Oscar for writing, not acting.
Each one of us has some extremely important gift that is needed now in this transformational moment in history. And it is that gift that your Higher Self wants you to succeed at. And this is what makes you indispensable. And when you find your way to accepting and embracing your path and realize that everything you do toward it is on your journey to success, then you are able to let go of ego driven ideas about success and feel the powerful support of your own Higher Self and the universe.
Now, I am not talking about having big dreams. This is what most of us get caught up in thinking about what success is. Achieving stuff and accolades is not the “Bliss” that Joseph Campbell was talking about. Bliss is not becoming famous or making seven figure sales. Bliss is what your divine purpose is in this lifetime. And you will find it hiding in plain sight. It is exactly the challenges you consistently battle with. And what your Higher Self wants you to do is to become with each new challenge a little more aware of your path, to become the most elegant expression of your Soul for yourself.
This, of course, then spills out and infects the world around you with goodness. Whether you’re an artist, or a scientist, or a chef, or a mother or a carpenter, or a bus driver, or a clerk, or a computer technician, or a nurse… Anything that you do from the depths of your Soul for yourself first and for others next is your path. It may function in the external world in different forms and descriptions, but if your Soul is expanding, you’re doing the right parts. We are all here to expand our Souls first and the world and human consciousness second.
So, every failure, every time we f—k up, we just need to stop, take a breath, then embrace the moment, and ask for guidance from within as to what we learned in this attempt to succeed. Journal about it. Make a game out of it. And realize that in this failure you have learned a new lesson, and you are one step closer to succeeding. Now rejoice, because it’s the little successes that create the quantum leap successes.
Now, the idea of success becomes a personal journey,
and not a competition with anyone for anything.
And, YES, this takes courage. But it’s the courage to find your own path, own your own journey, and embrace the challenges and rewards along the way. You’ll find the sensation of this kind of success in your heart and deep in your gut. Sink into those parts of you and allow, allow, allow the joy in – the compassion in – the love in – and the feeling of self-worth in.
You are indispensable!!!!
The more you expand and allow your true Soul-self up to the front of your awareness, the stronger and healthier you become, and the world becomes. Without you and your gifts, it’s going to take longer to make the quantum leap into a loving caring peaceful world.
Thank you for being part of this community and for your magnificent indispensable part of our whole human family. And our Divine Mother Earth.
Blessings of light, love, and joy,
