The Late Earl Nightingale described success as: “The
progressive realization of a worthy ideal.” Meaning, as long as you are
continuously working towards your worthwhile
goals you are a success. The minute you decide that reaching your
goals is improbable or impossible, you give up, you fail.
If you are like me, then there is a point in your life where
you stopped dreaming. This point is
where you decided that what you really wanted out of life was unobtainable.
Whether it be wealth, recognition, solid familiar ties, maybe even freedom. The
list extends forever of what you might want out of life. However, someone, somewhere, told you that
you were a dreamer, and that you should be a realist. In fact, you probably
heard phrases similar to this many times, right before you gave up your dream.
Take a minute to
reflect back to what your dream was,
can you remember? Now, think about what
you have settled for. Did you give up
your dream for a low paying (safe) job?
Did you get a degree in something you didn’t even like because people
told you, you wouldn’t be successful in what you wanted to study? Maybe you are at a point in your life where it is
painful to get out of bed in the morning because you are telling yourself it is not worth it. If this is
the case, STOP IT, Halt these thoughts in their tracks!
At the commencement of my university career, the graduation
speaker, in his address expressed his solemn hope, that we would all be able to find jobs. Let me give some
context, I pursued a Liberal Arts degree in Music. I can very well predict what
went through your head as you read that.
You probably thought something to the effect of, “What a worthless Degree!” Don’t worry, I don’t blame you. This is what I
heard every time I told someone what I was studying. And for some time, I
actually believed what they were saying. However, those thoughts are a direct
result of what the world has taught
us to think. I now use my degree every
day of my life. I even own a budding
business that I created around my degree.
An unsuccessful person who receives a degree in Business
will still be unsuccessful in their career regardless of the degree. A successful person who receives a degree in
Visual Arts, will still be successful regardless of the degree. The degree does not matter! What matters is
if you decide to be a successful
person.
“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy
ideal.” If you are not happy where you
are, choose where you want to be. Focus
on that goal, and don’t let the opinion of others become your obstacle. Others
will only try to stop you because they have forsaken their dreams, and in their
failure they don’t want to be alone. Don’t let anything break your
concentration! Find your dream and then
decide to live it! And don’t be
discouraged if it takes a long time to come, the best things in life are worth
working towards! And when you reach your goal it will make your personal
victory all the sweeter to taste!
I wish to explain
that there is a difference between having a failure and being a failure. A failure attempted in the right direction is
a success. Think of J.K. Rowling, The
author was rejected 12 times before she succeeded in publishing Harry Potter. She
once stated that, “Rock Bottom became the solid foundation upon which I built
by life.” Small failures will result in a large success, if only you attempt
again. When you reduce your dream to
being a mere whimsical idea, and discredit the power it holds, that is when you
truly give up.
When pursuing a
dream, never us the word ‘Try,’ to try implies that failure is possible. When
you say you will DO something, it implies a successful resolution to the task
at hand. Also, say what you are going to do aloud, this will solidify the ideal
in your mind, and immediately your brain will begin putting your dream into
action.
Below I have the original recording of Earl Nightingale when
he first presented this idea. I promise
if you listen to it and you apply what he says your life will change for the
better.
Decide to be a successful person, once you make that
decision, the hardest part is done.
References:
1.
Nightingale, E. (2006). The strangest secret.
United States: BN Pub.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSiPbuotH4c accessed: 4/1/2015
