Does Size Matter With Success?

I've been busy this year working with clients to be ready to buy and sell. Finally, we have reached the point that my buyers are qualified and we opened escrow on Wednesday. My sellers are getting close, too, they are finalizing repairs and the new carpet goes in on 8/9 and then we can list! I also have another family who got the promotion they were waiting for so they are meeting with their loan officer again to get their pre qualification so we can start shopping. My last two quarters of this year should be off the hook.

I came across this quote from 2010, it's something I said during a challenging time. I'm sharing it because I love that my girl friend Juli shared an equally important perspective and not only do I want it in my life journal forever, I'm thinking you will all agree that she is spot on!

"I don't think the important parts of life happen when you succeed. I believe they come when you falter, or fall off the wagon and manage to get back up and stay the course. Getting back on track and seeing something through is far more rewarding than doing something that was too easy to begin with."

Here's how the comments went:

 Kathy Partak July 11 at 8:30am · Auburn · "I don't think the important parts of life happen when you succeed. I believe they come when you falter, or fall off the wagon and manage to get back up and stay the course. Getting back on track and seeing something through is far more rewarding than doing something that was too easy to begin with." - Kathy Partak, 2010

Cathleen: WELL SAID. I AGREE 100% Have a great day. 😀

Steve: Absolutely and I agree with this

Lori: YES YES YES!!!! I'm living that RIGHT NOW!!!!

Juli: But it's so much more fun when success comes easily!

Renee: That seems to only happen for a select few.

Kathy: I agree, but I don't think I remember easy successes the same way I do the ones that challenge me.

Juli: We all have success each day -- some large and some small. I think it's important to recognize them, even when they're small, and acknowledge a job well done. For example, last night I was exhausted and decided to clean up the kitchen instead of continuing on a physically demanding project. I got the kitchen cleaned and floor swept. It was a small success but it was good to recognize that I did it instead of just going to bed. I realize you're probably talking more about big successes like job promotions, successful relationships, reaching goals, etc. but don't forget about the little ones that take place every day. It's good to recognize things that may net seem like a "success" and pat yourself on the back. We all have those. Renee, you did a couple of amazing things last week by making a critical meeting happen AND helping your sister. Most people would have just blown off one of them but you successfully did both and did them well.

Kathy, oh my goodness, I see little success happen DAILY with you. Just because they seem to be easy, you should still take the time to recognize them. I know they aren't as memorable as the ones that are hard, but they're still wonderful and amazing. And they add up!

Kathy: You’re the best! I love you and I agree with you 100%!!!!

Juli: Thanks Kathy. Now I have to get back on the physically demanding large project. When I complete that, I will consider it a huge and memorable success! 

Kathy: Renee and Juli, can I put this in my blog? I want to copy these comments and they will read with your full names, is that okay? Oh wait, I can take your last names off.

Renee: Juli thank you for that reminder.You are absolutely correct! It is so easy to get caught up in the bigger issues, that we tend to forget that we have smaller successes on a regular basis. I agree with Kathy, you are the BEST! Yes, Kathy you can include my name and comments in your blog. There is a great lesson in this thread. :)

Juli: I was thinking more about this. In reality, isn't it the small successes that make up the big ones? Kids -- you don't just end up successfully raising a kid. It's the daily, weekly and monthly successes that make it happen. Projects -- it's successfully figuring out one element at a time and completing various pieces of it that make you get to "call it" a success. Jobs -- Each phone call, each email, each communication, each project adds up to a successful career. We can call our relationships "successful" but the success consists of so many individual pieces put together. Without the little successes, we'd never get to the big ones. So maybe we should pay more attention to the little ones? Okay, I'm done now. :-)

Kathy: I agree completely. What's funny is that I am so much more interested in the ordinary but when something really challenges me and I rise to occasion, I feel so much more successful than when I just go through the motions of the small stuff. Maybe it's an illusion or maybe they are equally important. Don't you agree, the little successes, though may not be as memorable, are as or more important to acknowledge than the big ones that require lots of energy and work? I do and I love that many of my friends are like minded and remind me to tune in and be present. In fact, if you know me, you know I love ordinary, I love the moments we laugh cooking in the kitchen, the time Dave snaps a photo of me sleeping on the couch with Spencer, or when we all eat something different because nobody wants to cook and we settle in to watch tv together.

Happy Monday! It's 7/11 and that means free Slurpees at 7-11. I am going to take Mason with me to run some errands, grab some lunch out and get a free Slurpee. Make today great and pay attention to the small successes, revel in them and treat yourself to a Slurpee.

What Does Success Look Like?

RiverLights Originals

When I look around and see the amazing people I have surrounded myself with every day, I see how good they have it. Sure, we all have problems, but for the most part, my circle of friends is happy and successful. They are working, playing, traveling, basically living a pretty good life.

As I look toward the new year, I always reflect back on where I was and how far I've come. Sometimes it seems like I didn't make nearly the amount of progress I was hoping for, but I keep setting goals and working hard.

It's about that time I am feeling a bit like I was destined to be a "Have Not" when someone says to me, "You really inspire me! I love the way you are not afraid to get in the game and try. I wish I could be more like you." WOW! I hear that and I ask, "Did I inspire you to the point that you did get in the game? Did you do something you would not have had you not seen me step up?" I usually get a resounding "Yes!"

Some examples are when I posted photos of my hikes and how I am taking action to get fit. I ran into an acquaintance at the grocery store and she had clearly lost a significant amount of weight. I commented and she replied, "You inspired me. You posted every day and each time I thought, why am I not doing it too?" Another time my friend had applied for a job that was something she wanted to do but had not yet had the experience on her resume. She was nervous when she got the interview because she felt like she didn't have talking points applicable to the new company. She went into the interview and told me that she channeled me and the way I can plug in life experiences to make an example of something. She spoke about examples in life and other jobs that she was able to make metaphors for the new job and show the interviewer that she has the skills - the people skills, the admin skills, the life skills that have nothing to do with the specific industry. Her excellent skills are applicable in many places and she remembered me advising her to ask for the position. She did and she is now excited to go to work every day.

With stories like this, how can I feel like I am not getting anywhere in this life? That is success on a grand scale! It makes me feel amazing and each time I feel like I am trying to run in quicksand, I will come back to this post and remember, these are just two people I've inspired to get ahead in their lives. What about you, do you feel successful? If you do, how do you gauge success?

What Is Intentional Winning In Life?

Because I know we have new friends joining us here in the Dream Machine, I periodically repost the explanation of Intentional Winning in Life. Read on and join us on Facebook, too! I have big plans for IWIL and would love nothing more than for you to have been with me since the beginning!


Intentional Winning In Life - IWIL is the process of bringing your dreams to life right now by thinking about them differently.

So many of us had dreams when we were younger that for this reason or that, we let go of pursuing. Even as adults, things come up that seem exciting or worthwhile, but we believe we aren't qualified, don't have time to learn, don't have the money, or simply don't feel we can reach the goal. Whatever you think, you're right! So if you don't think you can do it, maybe you could think about it in a way that does seem doable to you. Just maybe, there is another way to bring that dream into reality.

Here's an example (reference the photo above): Let's say your dream is to go from San Francisco, CA to New York, NY. Most would agree that the fastest, most direct route would be to travel eastbound on highway 80 in one strait shot - the pink road. You'll see a little piece of green on the pink route which is a planned detour where there's a break in highway 80. As we do this, plug in life goals and normal activities that come along the way such as going away to college, getting married, having kids, changing jobs, etc. If you think about each of the events in your life that stop your progress to your dream destination, it's easy to see how we get stalled and eventually "settle down" in Anytown USA along the way. If you look closely at a United States map, you will see that there are hundreds of other roads to get you to New York from San Francisco - the orange roads. Will it take longer? Yes. Will it cost more? Possibly. Will the journey be full of surprises? Absolutely! When you realize that all those other roads can get you where you want to go, you can see that not only can you make your dream come true, but you may also find other things that make you happy and bring you joy along the way.

I'm going to define IWIL a whole lot more as we continue through this year. I'm also going to show you many things you can do to restart the engine on your dream and start feeling it's joy this very minute! Let's get this show on the road and start discovering what the orange roads have to offer.

Why A Resolution Just Once A Year?

Daily resolutions are the way to go....reset each time you wake up. Keep some going, stop some that may not be working as good as you'd thought, and make new ones that come to light as you go! It's all a living process -- nothing is set in stone, you really do have to roll with it and adjust as needed. If you do this, you won't need to make an annual resolution but it sure doesn't hurt to employ the universal energy that's so high this time of year!

Quotes That Resonate

Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats. ~ Howard Aiken

Quotes That Resonate

"Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that’s where you will find success." - Thomas Watson

Thank you to IWIL reader Michele for this quote. She shared with me about the J.K. Rowling quote and as I read this, I got chills. At the rate I'm going, I should be wildly successful very soon! Big Friday Smiles!