Stop Waiting for Success – Be Happy Now
What makes your heart blossom? Are you waiting for success?
A few weeks ago, my husband and I adopted a new black-and-white kitten. She’s beautiful and rambunctious and never stops moving.
When she leaps, she can fly through the air, literally from the ground to your shoulders – I like to say that she’s a cross between a cat and a bat.
We named her Luna, after the goddess of the moon and magic – two energies this little kitten definitely embodies!
Now, her first two days at home with us, all she did was jump around our apartment, using my husband, myself, and our furniture as springboards. Then, on day three, she started snuggling.
When Luna snuggles, she doesn’t just come and lie in your lap. She puts her face right up against your neck and sits across your chest, right over your heart. She rubs her cheek on your cheek. Her purr is so loud that it sounds like a machine.
The first time she did this, it was like my heart exploded. Tears started rolling down my cheeks. It was so deep and intense. Those of you who have kids and/or animals know exactly how this feels – it was a moment of absolute joy.
It got me thinking about the way we think about contentment as entrepreneurs. We equate our success and accomplishments with our happiness.
We tell ourselves things like “I’ll only be happy if I get six more clients,” or “I’ll feel successful when I hit six figures,” or “I’ll find love and joy when I have more free time.”
My business crossed seven figures in 2013. It was a huge accomplishment, but it didn’t bring me complete happiness. In fact, in classic overachiever fashion, my mind immediately skipped to my next goal – how could I make 2 million? How could I make 5 million?
And now, years later, I’ve started to understand that attempting to graph the correlation between success and happiness is pointless.
We can’t delay love, joy, and happiness until we’ve attained “success,” because they don’t necessarily go hand in hand. Many people are very successful and unhappy, and many people are happy but wouldn’t consider themselves successful.
More money and more clients might add to your happiness, sure. But those clients aren’t your only path to contentment, nor are they guaranteed to brighten the present moment.
In fact, I think the best way to cultivate success is to create and pursue moments that make our hearts burst with love and joy.
Your business can inspire those moments. I can remember feeling so alive when someone is transformed at the mic during an event, or when one of my clients has a breakthrough on a phone call.
But I have to admit that the majority of those lovely heart-opening moments come into my life when I’m floating in the ocean; when I’m sitting outside on my dad’s patio, surrounded by family and embroiled in an argument over the latest television show or NPR story; or when I’m with my husband, taking a walk.
I could go on and on.
Some of our most mundane moments can stoke the most unconditional joy, if only we let them. We have to be open to it. We have to feel it.
Remember – we build our businesses to support our lives. It’s not the other way around.
So this week, I invite you to see the bliss in your life. Crack a window and let the sun split your heart open. Don’t wait until you find “success” – or you’ll miss the beauty that’s been sitting at your kitchen table all along.
I’ve posted this article over in our Facebook Group (if you haven’t joined you’ll need to answer a few questions first). I’d love for you to comment there and tell me about your own problem scenarios regarding happiness and success. Hop on over there and leave a comment and join the discussion.
