Living Simply: Question 10

Today our next question in our summer series about living simply is this:

What does success look like to you?

     To many people, success looks very different. Society would tell you success means having a car you can't afford, a home bigger than you could ever need, and debt up to your eyeballs! But from a minimalist or just living simply perspective, success can look very different, and yet, be even more rewarding. Let's take a look at a few ideas.

     Success can mean you still run a business or have a job, but maybe you have control over your own hours. There's thousands of stories of people who had no time freedom, so they either started their own business, or working from home, or went into a private practice to have control over their time. To them, that's success.

     Success can mean you don't have debt anymore. Maybe it's from an inheritance, or royalties for something you did earlier, or maybe like many who follow financial advisers like Dave Ramsey or Suze Orman and got rid debt. You live a lifestyle that's comfortable, you have an emergency fund, savings, retirement planned out, investments, and no car payments, credit car debts, or school loans. That space to financially breathe is success to them.

     Success can be so simple depending where you started out. In my lifetime, I have been and met people from all walks of life, from all over the world, who grew up poor, in very bad circumstances. Society would've project by outward appearances that people like that had no hope, no future. But every so often, someone rises above their circumstances. They find (or are blessed with) mentors to lead and guide them. They find hope and belief that they CAN do better than what they grew up with, and find the determination to make it out of those circumstances. For them success may look like becoming a stable 2-parent household with good kids that aren't trouble makers. For some it looks like finishing high school when those in their neighborhood generally drop out and turn to a life of crime, gangs, drugs, or prostitution. Something as simple as getting a college degree or finding a job that pays the bills can mean the world to someone who's only known struggles before that. 

     Don't let anyone else determine what success looks like for YOU. Take the time to figure out what would make you feel like you've had success in an area of importance to you, then take the intentional steps to make that happen. You deserve the life you're willing to hope, belive, and work for. Now go get it.