From the Fingers of Henrik Flensborg Rants, Raves and Recommendations about marketing and health

[Growth Focus] – To Realize your Dreams, Focus on Significance, not Success

Hi,

Today I've selected a guest article from Kimberly D. Wells.

Kimberly is one smart gal, and you might want to consider
visiting her website after reading the article - if you
find it significant.

To Realize your Dreams, Focus on Significance, not Success
by Kimberly D. Wells

"The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success,
but on significance." - Oprah Winfrey

What if true fulfillment could be found not in what we
achieve, but in the significance of what we do?

Often, when we think about setting goals for ourselves, we
think about what we could have or do that would bring us
great success. We dream of a promotion, being on TV,
winning the lottery, going on exotic trips, and of the
proverbial, shiny red corvette. All these things represent
a form of success that we imagine being available for
ourselves.

It seems reasonable that winning the lottery or getting a
new car would increase our standard of living. After all,
who couldn't use more money or a better car? However once
we've made it to one level of success, we rarely take a
moment to appreciate it before moving on to the next. The
material object we desire has been captured, and the chase
is over.

It is instances like this where we have failed to make a
true difference in our own lives. By focusing on objects of
success, rather than objects of significance, we have
created a continuous cycle of disappointment.

How is focusing on success different from focusing on
significance?

We all have a slightly different idea of what success is,
based on our own opinions of what it takes to have, be, and
do 'more' or 'better.' In this sense, the things we feel
successful about are measurable things in our life. Getting
the promotion means we have succeeded in acquiring a
measurable result. Winning the lottery is a measurable
result, as is making it onto Jeopardy(tm), visiting Nepal,
or owning a corvette.

We also have our own opinions of what is significant in
our lives. Our families, friends, spiritual commitments,
and health are just a few examples. Sometimes we sacrifice
experiences and actions that would make a profound impact
in what we would consider significant in our lives, because
we are blinded by the more appealing, "successful" solution
that will make us look really good.

If your dream is for your children to grow up to be
healthy, have solid values, and be productive citizens,
which would make a more significant impact in their lives?
You getting a high-paying job where you travel a lot and
aren't home often, but have plenty of money to pay the
bills, treat them to movies, and pay for their college
tuition? Or would your dream more significantly be
fulfilled by taking on a lower-paying job where you are
home more, available to spend time with them creating
memories, and allowing them to take on the responsibility
of paying their way through school?

Neither of these options is "right" or "wrong", but they
will each have a very different results. Each year millions
of parents make decisions just like this, and many opt to
be financially successful, because they equate having money
to being a good parent. They were brought up, perhaps not
having a lot of money, and recognize opportunities that
they can make available to their kids using money as a
tool.

For another example, let's say that since you started your
marketing firm, your dream has been to help home-based
businesses reach their market expansion dreams. Like all
marketing and media firms, you are bombarded with
opportunities to win awards and prestigious recognition for
the work you do. The issue is that in order to win the
awards and gain much desired exposure, you must alter the
way you do business.

Will you continue to run your business in a way that
significantly impacts the lives and futures of your
clients? Or will you choose to chase the images of success
that lie in awards and recognition? Is it possible to do
both and still fulfill upon your mission?

If your dreams are a classroom, significance is the
genuine learning experience, and success is a standardized
test. While you are experiencing true learning and growth,
you might learn what you need to ace the test, but when you
teach only for the test, you miss out on a lot of wonderful
experiences that aren't related to the final exam.

*** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** ***
Kimberly D. Wells, Creative Opportunist, is the owner of
K23 Enterprises, a company specializing in finding barriers
to successful business development, and squashing them.
Find out how we can help you Remove Barriers and Create
Opportunities at http://www.k23enterprises.com
*** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** ***

Hope you enjoyed the article and that you'll go looking
for significance in your own life.

All the best,

To your wealth and growth

~Henrik Flensborg