<\/p>\n
For the last two weeks I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been promising you twelve keys to a truly successful life; but all I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve shared with you are two commandments from the Bible. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Love your neighbor as yourself.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> I also promised that this week I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d tell you what these two commandments have to do with success and why they mean more than any other belief, practice or activity you could possibly have or do to assure that your life will be a real success.<\/p>\n To accomplish that, the first thing we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll need is an accurate definition<\/em> of success. Imagine that sometime in your early childhood Mama showed you a rutabaga and said \u00e2\u20ac\u0153apple\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em>, and from that point forward whenever you see a rutabaga you think \u00e2\u20ac\u0153apple\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> and whenever someone says \u00e2\u20ac\u0153apple\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> you think rutabaga<\/em>. <\/span>Now when your spouse asks you to pick up apples<\/em> at the grocery, you come home with a bag of rutabagas<\/em>. If your definition<\/em> is wrong, you may get what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re looking for, but it won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be apples.<\/p>\n Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the key to success<\/span><\/strong>: Achieving true success in your life starts with having an accurate definition of success.<\/em> If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got the wrong definition you may get what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re looking for, but it won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be success.<\/p>\n Success<\/em>, according to Webster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Dictionary, is defined as, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the accomplishment of what is desired or aimed at.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> In other words, success is the fulfillment of that which was originally intended. For example, if I stand at the base of a mountain and my original intent is to climb to the peak, then I would be successful<\/em> (I would have fulfilled my original intent) when I reached the top of the mountain.<\/p>\n Because we live in such a materialistic, self-guided world, our definition of success has become a very blurry thing. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been fooled into believing that success<\/em> has something to do with the things we possess or the amount of time we pursue leisure, or cool those who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know us think we are. What the world tells us is \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcsuccess\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> is a very twisted and fake imitation of the real thing.<\/p>\n Have you ever walked into a restaurant and seen the plastic models of cuts of meat or desserts on display? The plastic imitations are on display to demonstrate the kind of steaks or desserts the restaurant has available on the menu. Restaurants use the plastic imitations because if they put the real food on display it would soon begin to rot or go stale, so they purchase plastic imitations of real food and put them on display to give the customer an idea<\/em> of what the real food looks like. The plastic imitations don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t rot like the real food but they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not the real food, and eventually they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll show signs of aging as well. Exposed to the display case lights day after day, the colors begins to fade and dust settles on the fake food. After a while the plastic models don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even look like good imitations of the real thing.<\/p>\n That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kind of where we are now. The world we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve built \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the world of stuff, and leisure, and distractions, and the lust for people we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know to see us as important or special, and calling our personal accumulation of all that stuff and leisure and false regard \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcsuccess\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> is like the faded, dusty plastic food in the display case; not only is it not the real thing, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not even a decent imitation of the real thing.<\/p>\n So what is the real thing? What is \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcsuccess\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em>?<\/p>\n Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s go back to Webster: success is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the accomplishment of what is desired or aimed at.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> So, as far as my life is concerned, I can be considered a success if I accomplish what I desire or aim at in life? Yes, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part of it, but not all of it. My true success in life is much bigger than me.<\/p>\n What Webster doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t share with us in his definition of success is just \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWho\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> is doing the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcdesiring or aiming\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em>. We assume that success means accomplishing what we<\/span><\/em> desire or aim at. But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really know who<\/span><\/em> we are or why<\/span><\/em> we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re here. And if I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know who I am and why I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m here, how can I know that what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m desiring or aiming at is worth accomplishing? Like the man said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I spent my life climbing the ladder of success only to find out it was leaning against the wrong building.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n How can we know our ladder of success is leaning on the right building? By understanding who we are and why we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re under the impression that your presence here on earth is an accident, then I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help you. If your existence is an accident any definition of success will be as good as the next. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d recommend getting whatever you can to make your time here as comfortable as possible before you return to the oblivion of non-existence (generally that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the plan most of the world is on so it should be fairly easy to find material focused on what to do before returning to the oblivion of non-existence; best of luck). If, however, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re of the belief that your existence here was an act of creation and somewhere behind that act is a purposeful Creator, then the place to start would be asking what His \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcdesire or aim\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> is \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as it pertains to you.<\/p>\n So what is your Creator\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcdesire or aim\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> in putting you on earth? That one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy \u00e2\u20ac\u201c He wants you to live<\/span>. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s His plan; always has been. Remember the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:22)? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always been the plan \u00e2\u20ac\u201c for us to live forever, to enjoy our time with Him forever.<\/p>\n God spelled it out for the Children of Israel before they entered the Promised Land. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice and hold fast to him.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)<\/p>\n After we threw our lives away by rejecting His purpose for us, God sent His own Son to restore that purpose. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life<\/span>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> (John 3:16)<\/p>\n The meaning of success just isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that complex. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcachieving an intended desire or aim.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s purpose for us, His \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcdesire or aim\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> is that we should live and enjoy a relationship with Him and with each other forever<\/span>. And we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got instructions from Him as to how to go about doing that:<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcTeacher,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 he asked, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcwhat must I do to inherit eternal life?\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 <\/em><\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWhat is written in the Law?\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 he replied. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcHow do you read it?\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/sup>He answered: \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcLove the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00ef\u00bb\u00bf\u00ef\u00bb\u00bf; and, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcLove your neighbor as yourself.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00ef\u00bb\u00bf <\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/sup>\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcYou have answered correctly,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Jesus replied. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcDo this and you will live<\/span>.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> (Luke 10:25-28)<\/p>\n True success begins with understanding the definition of success. What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s His<\/em> definition of success as it pertains to you and me? That we live<\/span><\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c not just the few years we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re allotted here on earth, but forever. Any definition of success other than the original one leads to \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, death.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcLove the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00ef\u00bb\u00bf\u00ef\u00bb\u00bf; and, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcLove your neighbor as yourself.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 <\/em>Everything else is just details. Next week (and for nine weeks following) I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll give you some nuts and bolts (the details) for practicing a truly \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcsuccessful\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> life daily.<\/p>\n In Him,<\/p>\n Steve <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For the last two weeks I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been promising you twelve keys to a truly successful life; but all I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve shared with you are two commandments from the Bible. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Love your neighbor as yourself.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I also […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,15],"tags":[863],"class_list":["post-568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-site-news","category-success","tag-success"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}