“For He remembered that they were merely mortal, gone like a breath of the wind that never returns.” -Psalm 78:39
One of the ways I’m learning to enjoy the journey through life is to not take myself so seriously. That’s hard isn’t it? To go through life not trying to impress others with your accomplishments and not strive to climb to the top of the success ladder. In order to enjoy the journey I think we need the right perspective on life and success.
I love John Wooden’s definition of success, “Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
Right now, I’m having success redefined for me. I’m at Jeanne Mayo’s house and in a lot of ways she is living out a lot of the dreams I have in my heart. As I look at someone like Jeanne who has a lot of the things I’d like to have and is doing a lot of the things I’d like to do, I realize that I can have all of that and still not be content if I’m not becoming the best I can be and impacting as many peoples lives as I can. Changing peoples lives is really all that matters, and that’s one of the great lessons I’ve learned from her.
I love going through quotes, poems, and stories that give me perspective on life. Two poems that have always impacted me are “The Indispensable Man” and “The Man In the Glass”. The purpose of the poems is to allow you to see the reality that no matter who you are, where you are, or what you do in life, you’re not indispensable and you aren’t truly successful unless you pursue the dreams in YOUR heart. So what is a successful life? Doing the best you can and becoming the best your capable of becoming. Hope these add value to you!
The Indispensible Man
Some time when you’re feeling important;
Some time when your ego’s in bloom;
Some time when you take it for granted,
You’re the best qualified in the room;
Some time when you think that your going,
would leave an unfillable hole;
Just follow this simple instruction
And see how it humbles your soul.
Take a bucket and fill it with water;
Put your hands in it up to your wrists;
Pull them out – and the hole that remains;
Is the measure of how much you’ll be missed.
You may splash as you please when you enter;
You may stir up the water galore;
But stop – and you’ll find in a second ,
That it looks just the same as before.
The moral of this is quite simple;
Do just the best that you can,
and be proud of yourself – but remember;
There is no indispensable man
The Man in the Glass
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When you get what you want in your struggles for self
And the world makes you king for a day,
Just go to a mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.
For it isn’t your father or mother or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass,
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.
Some people might think you’re a straight-shooting chum
And call you a wonderful guy.
But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.
He’s the fellow to please, never mind all the rest
For he’s with you clear to the end
And you’ve passed your most dangerous test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.
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Dominique Dejonghe (1)