Meaning of Success

Achievement comes as the result of an existence lived from the back to front. The way to carrying on with a fruitful life is getting a handle on the mindfulness that you are sufficient. When you comprehend you are sufficient, you make the space inside your cognizance that enables you to realign amicably with your basic self or most elevated great.

One of the early pioneers of spiritual psychology, Carl Jung, suggested our psyche, or soul, consists of three specific parts: the persona, the ego and the essential self. The persona is the aspect of ourselves we wish to present to the world. The ego is the “I,” or the personality. It is the aspect of ourselves we believe ourselves to be. These two are highly powerful and can cause us to believe in the illusion of failure when they are out of alignment with the third aspect of our soul, our essential self, or “God-Self.” If we allow ourselves to be moved by the world of effects, our attention is pulled away from the true callings of our soul. And as the saying goes: Where attention goes, energy flows.

Most of us are products of a society that defines success in terms of material supply. Yet true success is demonstrated by wholeness, which is only experienced by walking in alignment with the needs of your soul. A whole person is happy, healthy, peaceful, creative, loved, appreciated, giving, fulfilled, desired and compassionate. To only view success as a demonstration of a certain level of material or financial status gained through ambition is to only grasp a small portion of your soul’s potential.

For example, after a couple of internships, and an unsuccessful stint in law school, I reached a crossroads in my own personal development, which made me question my desire to practice law. It took some time, and serious truth-telling, but I soon discovered I was pushing myself toward a vision of success based on money, not wholeness. Yet in this discovery, I was able to find that education—advocacy, teaching, counseling and researching consciousness—were subjects that fascinated me. I devoted my full attention toward my passions, and I watched my soul blossom as a result. In fact, it’s how I met my wife, which was confirmation for me that I was on the right path.