Success is one of the most overused and diluted words in the popular lexicon. It really doesn’t mean anything when I say it to you, or you say it to me. It is a valueless value. “I want to become a successful success at succeeding.” Right. But I recently came across this quote from Booker T. Washington:
“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.” – Booker T. Washington
This definition of success speaks so loudly to me, that I couldn’t help but share. Abraham Lincoln immediately comes to mind, as does Thomas Edison. We’ve all read or heard the stories of their repeated attempts and failures in pursuit of their goals. And I applaud anyone who has met and overcome obstacles in the path to their dreams and destiny. It takes courage and fortitude to pick yourself after a humiliating defeat, traumatic loss, or calculated mistake and continue on along the same self-chosen path.
I also have a soft spot in my heart for those hardy souls who’ve overcome obstacles not of their own making. People who were born into poverty, suffered abuse, or were victims of crime or disease but managed to overcome and improve their condition, for themselves, their families, and generations to come.
Look at your own life – what obstacles have you overcome? How are you measuring success – is it by title, power or position? Or by what you have overcome, how your character has grown, and how you’ve learned to handle disappointment, disaster, and defeat?
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