We are even told that we aren’t smart enough, young enough, secure enough, rich enough or bold enough unless we use their product, drive their car or go on their vacation. Far too many of us are on a wild goose chase in search of some holy grail that will suddenly make us rich, secure, happy and successful.
With all of this searching, more and more of us are getting depressed and discouraged with our lot in life. We feel as though we just don’t have what it takes to be successful and happy. We truly need to stop looking outside and beyond and start looking inside and beneath our own skin to find what success is really all about.
Dr. Russell Conwell of Temple University once delivered a lecture that was quoted in a December 1980 edition of the wall Street Journal. Dr. Conwell told of a man in Titusville, Pennsylvania, who sold his farm for $833 to go off and search for oil in Canada. The man continued his search for many years but never hit oil, never found success and finally gave up his quest in frustration. He had searched high and low for the magic spot that would give him all the success and security he dreamed of. Yet in his chase he came up entirely empty.
The man who purchased the farm for $833, however, settled into his new environment and worked hard at his labors each day. As he dug a well for additional water, he found instead a rich well of oil and launched a billion dollar industry.
Today, with faster communications and transportation, instant access to information and people, it is ever easier to look at the fact that the grass may appear greener on the other side. Yet what really counts is what is going in your own back yard and what is going on in between your own two ears.
The old saying is true that success is like a butterfly -- the more you chase it the more it eludes you-- but if you will settle in and focus on the task at hand, it will come and softly land on your shoulder. So unpack your bags, bloom where you are planted and find the success, joy and satisfaction that is waiting for you, right where you are – blooming in your own back yard.
This lesson is provided by Expert Directed Guided Education (EDGE) and is available as one of the powerful membership options on iLearningGlobal the online learning system I use with my coaching clients. To learn more about it, just go to: http://www.theilgmarketer.com
