Are you still feeling sorry for yourself?

If you are, then I want to give you something to think about. Watch this video in its entirety. It may give you a new perspective on life, on tenacity, and on living life to the fullest when you have it.

As a tribute to Randy Pausch, bloggers begun a series titled "One Last Blog Post." Below are some of the posts. They are inspiring.

Byron's One Last Blog Post
Mary's One Last Blog Post
Arnaldo's One Last Blog Post

Watch the video, and read the posts, and think about how your attitude impacts your success in life.

What is success to you?

What does success mean to you? Let's look at a dictionary definition:

Main Entry:

suc·cess

Pronunciation:

\sək-ˈses\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Latin successus, from succedere

Date:

1537

1obsolete : outcome, result
2 a: degree or measure of succeeding
b: favorable or desired outcome; also : the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence
3: one that succeeds

I pulled this definition from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary. The definition there that speaks to me is 2b. "favorable or desired outcome." As I chew and ponder on this definition, it occurs to me that as we begin this journey there are two words we must pay particular attention to: "desired" and "outcome". I will explain in a moment why I feel that those two words are very crucial to our laying the foundation for attaining personal success. First, let us return to Merriam-Webster to define these two words.

Main Entry:

¹de·sire

Pronunciation:

\di-ˈzī(-ə)r, dē-\

Function:

verb

Inflected Form(s):

de·sired; de·sir·ing

Etymology:

Middle English, from Anglo-French desirer, from Latin desiderare, from de- + sider-, sidus heavenly body

Date:

13th century

transitive verb1: to long or hope for : exhibit or feel desire for <desire success>
2 a: to express a wish for : request desire an immediate answer>
b archaic : to express a wish to : ask
3obsolete : invite
4archaic : to feel the loss ofintransitive verb: to have or feel desire

Ignore the archaic and obsolete definitions and focus on the transitive verb - to long or hope for. What strong and beautiful words those are. When do you hear the words "I long for..." - when someone is missing a loved one, or a loved place, when a suitor is wooing a lover... "I long for home...", "I long for your kisses..." To desire something in the true definition of the word is to long for that thing deeply and with feeling.

Let us look at the second word: outcome

Main Entry:

out·come

Pronunciation:

\ˈau̇t-ˌkəm\

Function:

noun

Date:

1788

: something that follows as a result or consequence outcome> outcomes of bypass surgery>

An outcome follows as a consequence of something... it is not an entity in and of itself, but rather must be preceded by something else.

Why have I meandered through this little adventure of looking at words? Because I believe that words are powerful, and that power, if harnessed by the strength of focused minds, through deliberate and conscious thought, can bring forth great results. But here is my purpose for this post, to ask you if you know what success means.

Success is a favorable or desired outcome. To pursue and attain success, you must have two things:

1. You must have a desired thing that you long for, that you have deep feelings about, that you want to see happen. This is something that causes you to toss in bed at night, to sit in pensive thought, to engage in purposeful endeavors, hoping, dreaming, fearful of failure, but trying nonetheless. This must be something that you want, that you feel will make your life that much more fulfilling. You are the only one who knows what this thing is.
   
2. You must have an action... something that will lead to the outcome. You cannot be in limbo, for there cannot be an outcome without an action.

Ponder on this. When you say you want success, what do you really mean? What is it that you're seeking? What is that desired and longed for outcome?

This is one of the corner stones. You must start here.