Sunday, March 23, 2014

Travelogue to Success

So I was going to call this blog "Travelogue to Success". I then promptly had to make sure my spelling of both travelogue, and success were correct--they were (how else would you spell them? travel-log (if you're not French), sucks-cess (a tribute to building your successes on your failures and right in line with a conversation I had today with a patient about how a fly vomits on its food to liquify it prior to sucking it up--yum, yum (I'm afraid I just lost my only reader--yuck!).
Side note--I heard that most radio hosts have one thing in common: they are able to jump from one random subject to another and tie them together some how. My mother would call this "scatter-brained". Since I plan on working in radio one day, I call this "talented".
So, "Travelogue to Success" sounded so presumptuous, since I'm probably not really that successful according to most people, although by definition I may already be successful because I am an achiever of many of my aims (https://www.google.com/search?biw=1177&bih=721&q=define+succeed&sa=X&psj=1&psj=1&psj=1&ei=lYQuU8TtMcODogTe-YGABA&ved=0CEIQgCswAA 1. the accomplishment of an aim or purpose, 2. the attainment of popularity or profit, 3. a person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains prosperity, 4. the outcome of an undertaking, specified as achieving or failing to achieve its aims.) This blog seems like something someone would write after being successful--but then it would be a book, not a blog. So calling my blog that now seems presumptuous, but calling it that later seems counterproductive.
Of note--the word success comes from the same root as the word succeed (as in succeed someone to the throne), succedere, which means "to come close after". Jon Acuff in his book Quitter discusses the idea of defining success so you know when you've reached it (and can stop endlessly searching after it and ruining all that is good in your life in the process). This may be a good idea since the word itself implies coming close to your goal "after" (after what?). Success to many people may mean attaining popularity or prosperity. I think the process of drawing close to a goal is more important than what comes after (though the after may be more posh). The important part is the struggle and learning process that comes while going through the "Nebraska" phase (Acuff again), or the ____ phase (Outliers and the Beatles). Though once you've muddled through your own Nebraska phase the world will finally notice you and *snap* you're an "over-night success". This time there will be evidence of the process (or I'll die penniless and no one will ever read this, or they will read it and know what not to do :)). --double smile.
The patient from above also said today that he thinks the most important ingredient to success is confidence and getting rid of ego (seemingly a contradiction...but give it some thought). Anyway, I'm so confident in my future success that I'm presumptuous (full of boldness and anticipation...or arrogance...or audacity (if you're a fan of Pres. Obama...or whatever). Bottom line is--
I'm going to be Wildly Successful, and Happy--maybe I should get that blog name now...hmm. naw. I'll never reach success anyway--only come close to it. Shoot! now it's not the bottom line. I already need that editor.

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