Shownotes
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 325 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
5 Essential Elements of Success
Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 325 of our trek. Yesterday on our trek, we were challenged with some crucial questions of why life is not a dress rehearsal. Today we will explore 5 essential elements on our hike that will lead us to success.
Thank you so much for coming along with me as we learn from the wisdom of the ages on our daily trek of life. Every day presents us a new opportunity to learn, to laugh, to love, and to make an impact in the lives of others that will last for eternity. While some of our daily treks are a multi-part series, you can join us at any time and start along with us from that point on. If you would like to listen to any of the past episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal. You can also subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Google Play, so each day’s trek will be downloaded to you automatically.
We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. This week so far has been a beautiful spring week. The hawks are very active although we have not seen any signs of young ones yet, so we are not sure if they have hatched. We continue to make slow and steady progress on our client work and related projects as well as our projects in and around The Big House. There is always much to do, so sometimes it is a bit difficult to measure our level of success from day to day. Success can take many forms in all areas of our lives. We should have a purpose for life that all successes direct us to. At the end of my life, it is my hope that after fulfilling God’s purpose I can say what the Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.” There are some key essentials involved in success regardless of what success looks like to you, though.
That is why today we will investigate the…
5 Essential Elements of Success
1. Passion
Bill Gates was able to build Microsoft and became the richest man in the world because he was passionate about his vision of putting “a computer on every desk in every home.” Passion, defined as intense emotional excitement, goes beyond mere enthusiasm.
· How Passion Is an Element of Success
A person with passion is a person who can set goals. Without them, you’ll have no clear direction and will drift along the road of circumstances. Another technology visionary, Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computer, abandoned his studies at Reed College to pursue more lucrative goals. Once he identified his passion, he was impatient with a slow path to carrying it out. You, too, can recognize your passions. When you share your goals with others, however, don’t be surprised to hear things like, “Yes, but that’s not realistic,” or “That’s not practical.”
“You see things and say ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were and say ‘Why not?’” – George Bernard Shaw
2. Determination
We recently watched a Dolly Parton TV special called A Coat of Many Colors. It was touching and inspiring. When it was Dolly’s turn at her high school graduation to announce her plans, she said, “I’m going to Nashville to become a star.” The entire place erupted in laughter. She was stunned, but that laughter instilled in her an even greater determination to realize her dream. Dolly went on to write over 3,000 songs. Today she holds the record for the number of awards for a female artist – including seven Grammy Awards and an Emmy. The first year her theme park Dollywood opened, in 1986, gross business revenues for the city of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, jumped 47% over the previous year. Her Imagination Library program has been adopted in 600 communities in 41 states. Dolly is respectfully referred to as the “Tennessee Icon.”
· How Determination Is an Element of Success
Without determination, a person can easily be lured away from their path. Many years ago, Viktor Frankl said, “Without a clear purpose, any obstacle will send a person in a new direction.” Stephen Covey, in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, talks about the tendency to respond to circumstances rather than priorities. Just recognize that if you respond to circumstances, any obstacle will send you off in a new direction. But with determination, you can establish priorities that will guide you through even challenging and unexpected circumstances.
3. Talent
As a young boy, Walt Disney lived in the world of fantasy and entertainment. When he first approached a Kansas City newspaper with his drawings, the editor told him, “These won’t do. If I were you, I’d give up this work. From these sketches, it’s obvious your talent lies elsewhere.” Walt could have easily given up. Here was a known “expert” telling him he had no talent for cartooning. He could have easily make excuses for not pursuing his dream to draw and write. All he could find for a studio was an old mouse-infested garage, but in that studio, Walt continued to draw his cartoons. We all know how one of those mice became an international household word. Talent is a funny thing. If you wait for perfect conditions, it will likely never appear.
· How Talent Is an Element of Success
Talent allows a person to focus. No one has talent in every area; discover where you rise to the top. What are those things you love to do whether or not you get paid? Sometimes we discover that our first sense of “calling” is guided more by others’ expectations than as a true reflection of our strongest areas of competence. Your talent is an essential element for success when combined with the other elements. It may require that you invest heavily to allow your talent to bring success, but investment in yourself is never a loss. “If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin
4. Self-Defense
Years ago, Jenny Craig was faced with losing 45 pounds. While losing it, she gained the self-discipline she needed to launch her own company. Estimated annual company sales today are $400 million.
· How Self-Discipline Is an Element of Success
Without self-discipline, a person can easily be swayed by others. Self-discipline is the foundation that makes the others elements work. Knowing the other elements is the initial step, but acting on them always requires self-discipline. Self-Discipline is not a hardship. It is a joy to be focused and intentional while others around you evidence their floundering lives with wasted time and resources. Maya Angelou persisted in her writing even when others discouraged her. At the time of her death, she enjoyed over $4 million yearly income.
5. Faith
Even with everything lining up logically or financially, real success requires that step of faith into the unknown. Remember Thomas Edison’s 10,000 failed attempts to invent the light bulb? He has the passion, determination, talent, and self-discipline to carry him on, but that alone did not bring him success. He had unwavering faith to believe that if God had allowed him to see it in his mind, it could become a physical reality.
· How Faith is an Element of Success
Faith is best described in Hebrews 11:1-3, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.”
The five elements that we discovered today will help us to refocus our lives so that we invest our time into what is most important and will bring success to our life purpose. Tomorrow on our trek, we will study the 10 Laws of a Living Legacy. So encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.
That will finish our trek for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.
Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.
As we take this trek together, let us always:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend to others Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- Leave a Living Legacy Each Day
This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!