Hi, friends! My name is Karen and I blog over at A house full of sunshine – a home-making and lifestyle blog where I share my decorating, organizing and kid-wrangling tips as we make our house a home. Thanks so much to Beth for having me here today!
You know why I love the quote I chose to share with you today? Because it’s so very tempting to look at successful people and imagine it’s been plain sailing for them. We see the end result. The accolades. The pay-off.
And usually, that’s all we see.
We watch these people reaping the sort of success we dream of experiencing, and if we’re honest, we feel a pang of envy.
What we don’t see is the backstory behind the success. The many hours spent writing or blogging in utter obscurity. The rejection letters. The failed business ventures. The missed sleep. The setbacks. The struggle.
The thing is that there’s no magic formula for success. There’s no secret handshake or back door that will get you there any quicker. Sure, sometimes a person gets a lucky break that accelerates their progress. But that’s the exception. For most of us, success is spelt “W-O-R-K”.
I love this quote from Robert Collier, because it’s not about the big Final Reveal where success is finally achieved – the mountain-top experience we all dream of in our professional careers. It’s about the journey. The small stuff. The daily habits that will take you there.
Because really, that’s where success is found.
It’s found in our mindset. In our everyday attitude toward work, while our dreams still feel a long way off.
It’s the ability to plant our butt in that chair and write the words. Do the time. Hone our craft. Day, after day, after day.
There’s a tension involved in balancing our big, long-term dreams with the small daily habits needed to get us there. It’s why I created the Dreams by Design planner. I wanted a way to hold my goals and my daily schedule in each hand. To keep track of the small stuff of everyday life, without losing sight of the big picture. I wanted a way to take those big dreams and create consistent follow through to move me toward them – every month, every week, every day of the year.
Small efforts, repeated day in and day out.
Because when it comes down to it, the small things are the big things.
Would you agree?
In Your Words: What helps you be successful day by day?
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I’m so glad Karen shared her thoughts with us today. She’s incredibly talented and creative — and I’ve invested in a copy of her 2016 Dreams by Design Planner for myself. I know that dreams take planning and work for them to happen. Today I’m giving away one copy of the 2016 Dreams By Design Planner. Leave a comment below for a chance to win. I will choose a winner on Friday.
[Tweet “In Others’ Words: Success by the Days with @karenschrav #quotes #dreams #plans “] [Tweet “Guest post with @karenschrav and a chance to win her 2015 Dreams by Design planner! #giveaway #InOthersWords”]
Comments 27
In a life that’s gone hilariously wrong – career over, close relationships going weird, and pancreatic cancer, success is found in still showing up.
Over to Henry Lee –
I see no gleam of vict’ry alluring,
no hope of splendid booty or of gain.
If I endure, I must go on enduring,
and my sole reward for bearing pain – is pain.
Yet though the thrill, the zest, and the hope are gone
something within me keeps me fighting on.
“Success is found in still showing up.” – YES. Oh, yes. That is success, alright. The poem you shared is so profound. Success for each of us will look different, and really it doesn’t matter if it has nothing in common with the world’s definition. We live by kingdom values after all. And the small stuff IS the big stuff. Daily endurance. Mundane faithfulness. That’s what matters. Keep on showing up.
You nailed what success is! Unfortunately, with everyone posting their final outcomes online, we too often miss the amount of work that was involved and simply expect to be there. We don’t see all that obscurity or the millions of small steps it took to arrive there! Such a great reminder today:)
Yes, I think social media creates a false reality. It can never show us the full picture – the “millions of small steps”, as you said so perfectly. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Susan.
If I may be indulged for a second comment…
Success has a name, and it’s MochaJava. MJ is my wife’s Rottweiler, who has three legs, and whose hindquarters don’t work too well…and who is eighteen years old.
It is my honour to carry MJ out, and hold her in a sling so she can perform the necessities, and to organize play periods with the young dogs (we have a sanctuary for abused and abandoned Pits).
Mocha is not the only super-geriatric we’ve had, and all have lived, and are living lives that were and are vital and rewarding. They have fun. They are not warehoused…they are integrated into a noisy, unruly mob, and they LOVE it.
There’s my success. Everything else is smoke and shadow. Love is what it’s all about.
Well, that’s just beautiful. Love, indeed.
What is success anyway? Success for self is only measured by how you view yourself. My day is successful if I’ve lived the day as God intended and have learned what needs to be learnt. My day is successful when I am with my love ones and our love is evident. A day of peace, laughter, joy and grace. That is a successful day.
“My day is successful if I’ve lived the day as God intended.”
YES – absolutely. You’ve nailed it. For each of us, that is going to look different… but I think we each know what it looks like for us. And that’s what’s important.
I love your description of a successful day. 🙂
Taking it day by day that are successful days for me.
One day at a time. It’s all any of us can do. I wonder why we sometimes struggle to remember that – to be truly present. Great reminder, Kim.
I try to keep my eyes focused on Jesus. Not always easy to do in this mad world.
Not easy, no. But so essential. Letting his presence and priorities frame our days. Thanks for the beautiful reminder, Gail.
so totally love this! My day is most successful when I pray and keep things in perspective. The house will not be perfect, and that’s okay. I will not win every kid battle, but we’ll survive. If I didn’t accomplish my writing goals that day, there’s always tomorrow. I truly need to work on my organizational skills but when I don’t hold on too tightly to rigid expectations things tend to go a lot smoother 🙂 love the planner!!!
Thanks, friend! Keeping it in perspective – so important! xo
Success is what you make of your life. Just keep going no matter what happens!
You got it, Judy! xo
Success is not quitting. It’s living God’s way. And I have this cross stitched somewhere: Success is that place in the road where opportunity and luck meet, but too few people recognize it because it comes disguised as hard work.
I love that, Patricia! So true.
I agree! Success is showing up day after day. Sometimes it’s meeting a tiny goal on a day when you just want to go back to bed! The planner is gorgeous, Karen! Congratulations on getting it out there!
Thanks, Jill! Yep, just showing up is half the battle. Funny how our main resistance often comes from within ourselves.
Success is taking the next step, day after day, being brave and not giving up. Keep on keeping on.
I love the journal! Such lovely color!
Would love the planner to help me organize and reach my goals for my Discovery Toys business this year!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
I agree, the small things are as important as the large. We all stumble, but the most important part is picking yourself back up and treading forward. Thank you for sharing and the opportunity to win.
Blessings
eppersonkatrina(at)yahoo (dot)com
“… write the words. Do the time.” Yep, I needed to hear this. Thanks, Karen!
I am so bad at the small things. Big things I.e. Fun projects are a cinch. I need to prioritize better.
Reading the Bible each morning assures me I’ll be successful each day.
Even if that’s ALL I do, I’ve accomplished something meaningful. 🙂
For me success is remembering the destination is not where the fun begins or where the benefits are truly reaped.