Success

How do you define your success? Do you set definite goals and targets for you to meet? Do you need to be somewhere you weren't a year ago? Do you have the need to be recognized as a great person or leader by others? Do you need followers? Do you need people to acknowledge that what you say is good and true and validate your ideas and existence? Do you need to feed or serve to a certain amount to make you a better person? What defines your success?

Do you even know what it is you need to achieve success as? We look at what we want to do and measure our success by worldly standards. If you look at a man like Noah, Noah was an excellent shipbuilder, but that wasn’t his main profession – Noah was a preacher. In worldly standards we would have called him a terrible failure as a preacher, 7 converts in 120 years (all family members) - not a good track record. He was a failure by worldly standards. Also look at Jeremiah, great preacher – no results though. He fell out with all the religious crowds, fell out with royalty and weren’t all too popular with the plain folks either. The only one he seemed to please was God.

Same with Jesus, He was also such a failure by worldly standards – He never printed a book, didn’t build a school for the blind, didn’t organize a church group or a bible study or do any of the things we see as a necessity to ensure our wellbeing and high standing in the world (or even in the church). He preached for 3 years, healed and fed thousands and yet when it was over, He had no one left and appeared to but a few after He was resurrected. He was denied and betrayed by those closest to Him, all men forsook Him and fled. He was a failure by every worldly standard.

But by Godly standard He was GOD. He had a different measure of success than we do as people. Should we not rather try to measure up to His standard of success?

We view people as successful when they can get the job done. We need to figure out by what standard of success we measure our lives and our ministries. 

A pastor I listened to a while ago asked the question, “Is God and end or is He a means?”

And also "Are we serving men in the name of God or serving God in the name of men?"

Dissapointment

“Heaven is not a place, and it is not a time. Heaven is being perfect. You will begin to touch heaven, Jonathan, in the moment that you touch perfect speed. And that isn't flying a thousand miles an hour, or a million, or flying at the speed of light. Because any number is a limit, and perfection doesn't have limits. Perfect speed, my son, is being there.”
- Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Disappointment... most of us meet up with it frequently. We are disappointed by many things - lovers, friends and family, but none of those has such a capacity to disappoint us, as we ourselves do. We seem to be more forgiving towards others than to ourselves. We desperately feel the need to be nothing less than perfect.

Have you ever not done something because you fear you will fail? I do it all the time. I know what I need to do to get to where I want to be, but fear of the unknown and fear of failure are my two greatest opponents.

We fear failure because it is not tolerated by society, our parents or our peers. We have the need to succeed, to show them that we are worth their love and time and attention. The problem is that we will fail horribly at some things (actually more often than not) on a daily basis. So why let fear of the unknown hold you back?? Is it to spare you the mockery of not being perfect?

Alanis Morisette has a song that sums it up nicely - Perfect: "We love you, just the way you are, if you're perfect..."

I am facing my fears of rejection and failure one by one, as I have built up a whole list of things that I should do but have always been to scared to do. I might have had bigger dreams than I should have, but that is okay. You sometimes need a little failure to keep you humble.

My dad gave me a book to read at the end of 2012 - Jonathan Livingston Seagull, written by Richard Bach. It is a thin book about a seagull who wishes to fly higher and be more than seagulls are accustomed to being - a true classic. Inspirational and simple. The lessons are as simple and true as you get, be the best you can be, fall down, get back up and always aim higher!

“Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding. Find out what you already know and you will see the way to fly.”
- Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Don't make your dreams little so that little people won't feel threatened.

Perfect

Sometimes is never quite enough

If you're flawless, then you'll win my love

Don't forget to win first place

Don't forget to keep that smile on your face

Be a good boy

Try a little harder

You've got to measure up

And make me prouder

How long before you screw it up

How many times do I have to tell you to hurry up

With everything I do for you

The least you can do is keep quiet

Be a good girl

You've gotta try a little harder

That simply wasn't good enough

To make us proud

I'll live through you

I'll make you what I never was

If you're the best, then maybe so am I

Compared to him compared to her

I'm doing this for your own damn good

You'll make up for what I blew

What's the problem, why are you crying

Be a good boy

Push a little farther now

That wasn't fast enough

To make us happy

We'll love you just the way you are

If you're perfect