“Some men’s lives are too great and noble to descend to the low level of being merely successful.”  [UB 2096:08]

Thought Adjuster: “The above quote brought a smile to your face.  For many of you, success is to finally bite in the inviting carrot placed at the end of the stick of their ambitions.  It is what motivates them to persevere.  Yet, success can become a dead-end.  How so?

“Let’s look at an athlete training for the Olympics.  For him, success would come in the form of a Gold Medal—the recognition by his peers of his superiority and excellence in his specialty.  Qualifying for a Gold Medal will earn him a space on the Wall of Fame of human achievements.  Yet, such world records are relatively short-lived, as they encourage others to challenge them, thus continually raising the bar of human achievements.  At times, some of these ambition-driven individuals may even play dirty to get what they covet, thus tainting their success story.

“A great and noble life goes way beyond this type of success.  A great and noble life is successful in the Father’s Eyes and His measuring stick is of a different caliber, as it takes into account the degree of adversity the individual had to overcome, as well as his or her personal handicaps.  True success is achieved when you play to perfection the deck of cards that life dealt you, even though it appears flawed to the human eyes.  Yet, to the Divine Vision, your life becomes a success story when you persevere in your quest for self-mastery.

“Jesus’ life was a success story even though it may appear to some that His premature death on a wooden cross was a failure.  Greatness goes way beyond material success.  Each one of you is equipped for greatness—the greatness vested in your character.  Such a greatness frequently emerges in the midst of adversities and personal setbacks, as they crack open the inner shell of your resistance and, with your collaboration, expand your whole being—proving to you that you are so much more than what you initially thought of yourself. 

“Dear ones, external success is not the highest level of personal achievement.  How are you handling your success?  Do you wear it as a chip on your shoulder?  Does it make you feel superior to your siblings? Do you rest on your laurels?  Truly successful individual humbly and gratefully acknowledge their progress but keep their sight focused on the manifestation of the highest values of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness that have to be integrated into whatever achievements can truly be coined as ‘successful.’  This is how the Father looks at them.”