Or at least that is what ideals of success can do. Along the way, many of us lose sight of them.

We are beaten down by failure. Distracted by the “tyranny of the urgent.” Fearful of pain or loss. Entangled in commitment. Sabotaged by our own disbelief.

Or so says Steve Little, who has made a career of helping people achieve their definition of success, partly by unshackling the mind from hindrances.

I for one would grant that there are forces beyond our control. We cannot make other people’s decisions for them. We cannot change the past, in particular past actions by which we became guilty or embarrassed. We cannot change our fundamental nature or the law of gravity.

But at the same time, we can fear our own success lest, having achieved it, we lose it again or it proves unsatisfying. Does that sound strange? In how many ways have we learned to place conditions, obstacles, and warnings as barriers to our success? When we gain success in some way, do we even recognize it or stop to be grateful we have arrived in some measure? And so we defeat ourselves in advance of battle.

If we cannot control everything, we can control how we think:

about setbacks
about obstacles
about things that make us feel afraid
about things that make us feel joyful.

But this introduces another layer in my view. Success or the ideals of success must be seen in relation to Providence and moral principle. Providence may steer and enable me on the path to success as a blessing, or thwart my efforts.

My own ideals of success themselves are best defined by Providence rather than me. Indeed, they are subject to Providence. And the achievement of success can be either a blessing or a curse depending on my obedience to moral principle.

How Providence and human action play out is more than I can say, though at best I can believe in both the good intentions of Providence toward me and in the vital role my thoughts and intentions play in the success I receive. And so …

The first step toward success is for the mind to arrive at it.

… All of which I propose in part because I am interested in your thoughts on the topic and your stories. Your comments are invited. What is success to you?

Peter Rubel

P.S. If the big-picture market is driven by mass psychology and mass mood, so the success of the individuals making up the mass are each driven by their own–our own–feelings and thoughts. In this connection, Henry Ford famously commented, “Whether you think you can, or can’t, you’re right.”

P.P.S. Steve Little (with whom I am affiliated) helpfully divides success into six categories:

- Finance and Money
- Business or Employment
- Recreation and Fun
- Health and Fitness
- Relationships
- Community