What is success, really?

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” ~ Albert Schweitzer

We are all here for a reason

"I'd imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured, if the entire world was one big machine, I couldn't be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason." ~ Hugo Cabret, from the movie "Hugo"

Finding meaning in life

“By declaring that man is responsible and must actualize the potential meaning of his life, I wish to stress that the true meaning of life is to be discovered in the world rather than within man or his own psyche, as though it were a closed system. I have termed this constitutive characteristic ‘the self-transcendence of human existence.’ It denotes the fact that being human always points, and is directed, to something or someone, other than oneself--be it a meaning to fulfill or another human being to encounter. The more one forgets himself--by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love--the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself.” ~ Viktor Frankl, Man in Search of Meaning

Have you discovered your life purpose?

Have you discovered your life purpose yet?  Your role?  What it is you love and are good at and want to spend your life doing?  Below is a brief but terrific essay on how one person discovered all of this for herself in her mid-fifties.  It's never too late to be who you want to really be and do what you truly love.

http://www.meditationsforwomen.com/artman2/publish/featuredarticle/featuredarticle.shtml

Our Deepest Calling

"Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic self-hood, whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be. As we do so, we will not only find the joy that every human being seeks--we will also find our path of authentic service in the world." ~ Parker Palmer, Educator/Author

How do you become truly accomplished at something?

"You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you." — Maya Angelou, Writer/Poet

Book Review: The Shadow Effect

The quest for perfection is failed from the start for all of us. There is no perfect life. All of us are a mixture of all that we have experienced, all that has traumatized or hurt us, all that has informed us, all that has inspired and healed us. Our growing up years. Our college days. Our career or work choices. Our marriages and divorces. Our parents, lovers, and friends. It's all a part of who we have become and who we are now.

The Shadow Effect: Illuminating the Hidden Power of Your Self, written by Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford, and Marianne Williamson, is a fascinating book that explores all we have been, are now, and can still become once we understand and accept our own hidden power under the layers of all that we are.

Read a review of the book here: The Shadow Effect

Build the Life You Want

I propose a radical, yet ancient notion: To build the life you want--complete with inner satisfaction, personal meaning and rewards--create the work you love.  By this I mean invent a way to earn an income doing what you do best, while serving others, becoming authentic, fulfilling the highest standards of your vocation.  This is spiritual work.  It's life's assignment.  And most of us are well-equipped to do it. ~ Marsha Sinetar, "To Build the Life You Want, Create the Work You Love"