It is my daughter Andie’s sixth birthday today. Wow – time really
does fly. As I was reflecting on her little life – I thought I would
share a great lesson she taught me -The True Definition of Success.
To the world success means money, power, or fame. The dictionary even
defines it as the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence. That is the
way that I defined it for most of my life. To me, success always had a
lot to do with the house I lived in, the car I drove and the clothes I
wore. Then a few years ago, I began to understand a new definition of
success.
On April 4th 2006 my daughter Andie was born. She was our first child
and like all first-time parents the anticipation, anxiety, and
excitement were all but unbearable. The whole day seemed rushed and
hectic as we experienced so much that was unknown. But once Andie was
born and we were back in our room, life calmed down, our world got very
quiet, and we started to take in our beautiful baby.
As I sat and held Andie in our room, my wife Sarah fell asleep, and I
was alone for the first time with my perfect little girl. I started to
imagine her life, seeing all of the good she had in front of her as she
grew and developed. I hoped and prayed for nothing but the best, but as I
pictured her life my definition of success changed. I didn’t picture
the car she would drive, the house she would live in, or the clothes she
would wear. Instead, I thought about how happy she would be, the good
she would do, and the person she would become. Looking at this little
girl with her whole life ahead of her, I realized that success is not
about external things. Money, power and fame are results; byproducts
that come from who you are. The true definition of success is:
To Become the Person You Are Capable of Becoming.
The emphasis is on becoming, not on obtaining. Each of us has
unlimited potential and it is the pursuit of that potential that is true
success. My favorite quote says, “The greatest loss in life is the
difference between human potential and actual performance.”
