Success. Getting what you want. Achieving your goals. Whatever you call it, how do you define this, this concept of doing well in life? Getting the results you want? Acquiring a new skill or level of skill? Attaining a new outlook? Getting a job? Money? Ranking higher than someone else at something? It is all of these things, yet simultaneously it is none of these.
I do not believe in success in the material or sense of the word, only growth. Simply getting a result does not prove or mean anything. There is a saying, “Do not go through life, grow through life.” If a man makes a winning on the stock market, that is a success. If a runner attains a 1st place gold medal, that is success. When a man meets a woman, goes through the process of dating and wooing her, and asks her to marry him, and she says yes, that is success.
Success is a test for your growth. If you cannot achieve a certain result, you may need to grow. Most people I have met only look for success, they aren’t willing to fully commit to growing. Likewise, others place too much emphasis on success, as though other people actually care about it, or like it really matters in the grand scheme of the universe.
So what then do I mean by growth, you may ask. Growth is whatever you want to call it. That is simply the word I am choosing to manifest the concept I understand that is in the dimension of my mind through my fingers and onto the computer screen before you.
Construction, advancement, enrichment, and even enlightenment are all words which can be used instead of growth. What I am talking about is a rather different approach on the world. People will happily glide through school, do exams, take part in social activities, watch movies, listen to music, eat food, do a job, pay taxes, feel fear, not questioning the world. None of that is creative. Creativity, imagination, creation are the fundamental thing which separates homo sapiens from all other species in the known, documented and publicly revealed history. Inventors, questioners, creators are what move our race forwards.
There is no shame if you are not this type of person, but all who live should seek the betterment of themselves. Take note of my choice of words. Seek, not want or desire. That is the reason we exist, to grow, to become greater than we already are. If you desire to grow, then that is the problem. The desire to grow implies the individual is void of constructive purpose. This is something which must be found, and can be found by pushing the boundaries of your reality. To the man that wishes to learn, everything is a lesson. Think on this.
Constructive activity is the road which we should seek. The advancement of skill leads to the enrichment of personality leads to the enrichment of spirituality. The dancer, the artist, the actor, the philosopher, the sportsman, any and all of these are what we are looking for. Find your calling. Become better at your calling, and you are following your cosmic will, your path. If you choose to become a professional at your skill on the path, then you are not on the path. If professionalism finds you within this, then it was meant to be.
Working and acquiring money is one of our ways to exist, this is how things are, if you do not question this, see how to live beyond this, then further growth is needed. The society in which we live forces us to do this. Food provides life, and money provides food. Loved ones, and you, require food. You will require money if that is your path, if either money of food is lacking, you will seek food, or money to buy food. If one chooses to look for money, it may be found, but this desire stems from greed, and may breed arrogance or vanity with the individual, and envy or infatuation within others. Money allows us to do carry out our pastimes which we need in order to exist, we should know how much money is required. If more can be attained, then it should only be attained for constructive purpose, not to be squandered, hoarded or otherwise wasted. As you can see, desire disrupts the balance.
People will obviously have the ability to imagine and to create, to build themselves, but they do not. Why? They lack the ability to persevere, to try, to temp fate, to face adversity. They get carried along in the flow of life, mostly with nothing of substance to show for it. In the words of Geoff Thompson, “If there is no adversity, there is no advance.” Only by breaking out of the mold will you grow. You have to step up to the challenge. Put your neck on the line. Not follow the herd. Be an individual. Only then will you truly learn anything about the world, yourself, life. By viewing this as a choice, you open yourself up for indecision in the moment, and therefore the opportunity may pass you by. Reflect on this.
Desire is what holds many people up, they want something, and may never achieve it. Part and parcel of desire and wanting is lack of satisfaction. There is no way to feed and sate desire, it is will only grow and therefore must be removed. Decisions that reveal themselves should come from following the path, not through trying to achieve something. In the same vein, fulfilling one desire is a marked success, and that is often the end of that road and the start to another road of desire. Humans are designed to be unlimited. There should be no final goal or test, as these will inevitably lead to another “final goal”. Life is just one long, endless journey. Do not choose to begin this journey, ‘be’ on it and experience it. There is no start, no ending. Just the journey.
