The Many Definitions of Success

Camped out at the local library the other day, I came across a book with this title: “How to be successful 99% of the time.” I wondered about the other one percent. Then I wondered further. What does “successful” mean, anyway? Guess that’s mostly a matter of perspective. A quick scan of the library’s on-line catalog using the keyword “success” and synonyms such as promotion, motivate, achieving excellence, secrets of, champion, and my personal favorite, choosing your own greatness had me snickering such that the librarians kept “shushing” me.

I couldn’t help thinking, Excuse me? Just how does one go about “choosing” greatness? Hey, I’d like a side order of Greatness with that burger? Or how about sashaying into the local Wal-Mart, thumping up to the counter with, “Gimme a coupla those, two or three of these, and some Greatness with purple stripes and pink polka dots”? And would you like that gift-wrapped? “Why not?” you shrug. “So long as I’m shopping for Greatness, might as well go whole hog, right? Say, do any of these Greatness dandies come in chocolate?”

So I’m skimming along, reading about self control, staying focused and “how to get the most out of life, how to succeed at work and in life, live with passion” and “strive to be the best.” (I feel a nap coming on.) A practical guide to “creative empowerment.” As opposed to what, stick in the mud stupidity? Bone-jarringly boring disempowerment?

Oh wait. There’s more. “Manifest your destiny.” Ouch. This sounds like a history lesson gone mutant. “No limit living.” This is a book filled with sage advice like “Allow yourself to be a child again.” Again? What about still? I’m sure that some of these books are helpful and the authors seem sincere. Some of them even have lots of letters after their names. Many of these tomes are laced with words like “happy, positive,” as in, “a positive attitude makes you healthier, and more resourceful. This will show you how to protect yourself from negative thoughts, people, and how to foster a positive mental attitude.” Why do I want to slap whoever wrote that? Other oft-repeated mantas are “breakthrough strategies” or “how to be a perfect person in just three days.”

Personally, I think perfect is highly over-rated, and that “success” may be in the eyes of the beholder. I consider any day I’m able to keep up with laundry, the dishes and groceries a “success.” Any day the kids squabble just half the time– instead of twenty-four/seven- is a “success.” At-home family movie nights are a “success.” Ditto picnics, fishing trips, camping, good health and the ability to read, write, and walk the dog. Enjoy a sunset. Smiling kids, blue skies, family time, a husband who actually listens to my disjointed musings and good friends are “success.”

So here’s the deal. I read a book on How to Be a Success once. It made me dizzy. These days, when I wake up with the great urge to Be a Success, I check into another book. I turn to the eighteenth chapter of the Gospel according to Luke. Chapter eighteen is a potpourri of emotion and action: sternness, tenderness, rebukes, welcomes, laughter, and impending sorrow. All this in just forty-three verses. This is a busy chapter. Indeed, Luke eighteen is an amazing feat of literary narration and academic architecture (perhaps) second only to the Pyramid of Giza.

Now, look at verse fifteen of this extraordinary chapter: People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. Do we know what this says, what it means? Who brings a baby to an old sourpuss or a stuffed shirt? Who wants a watery wet blanket to hold their little one? Who carts their kid to a cranky curmudgeon? Mothers don’t entrust their babies to just anyone. If they were bringing their babies “to Jesus to have him touch them,” what does this say about Jesus? Does the Jesus pictured in Luke sharpen our wits, poke and probe our innermost parts, convict to the roots of our hair and shake us to our very core? Yep. But I have a sneaking suspicion that Jesus also told the funniest jokes I could ever hear and that the same man who rebuked his disciples for trying to prevent the children from coming to him probably had a twinkle in his eye much of the time. How can anyone or anything be more “successful” than that?

The author of ten books, Kristine Lowder is a writer, homeschooler, blogger, and humorist. She has been a feature editor and Children’s Ministries Director and has worked in public relations and marketing, strategic plans and market analysis, and in numerous volunteer capacities. Kristine resides in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, Chris, their four sons, and their yellow Labrador retriever, Eve.