I CAN’T STOP THINKING about success. Perhaps it is because it is in our face all the time. You know, the kind of success that is measured by numbers. How many followers, how much money, how many books, how many people are your friends, or how much do you weigh?

Success by fame. Success by the size of your house. Success measured.

We are bombarded, literally, with emails, ads, and social media promotions that claim success is found only when we follow their prescription for it.

We pay dearly for that kind of success. Not just pay for it with money, but pay for it with our time that could be spent doing something that brings joy to our hearts, and peace to our lives.

And I can’t believe that is success. Success can’t be a numbers game, measured by amount, size, or fame. Success can’t mean my success should look like yours.

There are many people who agree. People who don’t think life is a paint by numbers kit, and who don’t color within the lines. People who don’t participate in the craziness of greed, jealousy, or competition to be the winner.

What if success was as simple as answering “yes” to the question: “Are you happy?”

As I interview guests for my Shift The Story podcast, I discover more people determined to find success that is not measured by numbers, but felt within the heart.

Not one of them has a life that looks like another. They have asked the question, “Why should my success look like yours?”

But, there is one thing that is central to all true success. It is the core intent of choosing to do the right thing.

Our intent has to include all creation in our planning. To live as if everyone is equal, not just say the words, live the words. To pay attention to our actions. To notice what our actions say about ourselves, our priorities, and beliefs.

This subject can’t be covered in just one blog. So I won’t. I just want to set the stage to continue to talk about the idea of success. It’s not new. The Shift has always been about shifting to who we really are, which is the essence of success.

I think it is possible for each of us to follow our own internal rhythm. We can learn to trust the Divine enough to know that we are always provided for, our needs always met. We would see this more effectively when we stop measuring what it should look like.

Yes, it takes work. It takes time. But, no one can sell us a short cut. Actually, when we stop tuning into the noise of outward success I think we will all be surprised to find that we know what success means to us. Together, we can walk that path, and choose to live within the core of love, rather than the shell of fear.

To me a perfect guide for this idea is what Einstein said. The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth.

Kindness. Could there be a more important quality to live and express? Listening, and looking for it we will find it everywhere. This could be our focus rather than protecting ourselves against everyone else.

The world is filled with examples of kindness. What about these two men who stayed behind to take care of the senior citizens when their caretakers took off to take care of themselves. Take a moment to listen!

http://www.npr.org/2014/11/21/365433685/if-we-left-they-wouldnt-have-nobody

Wouldn’t you prefer to hang out with them, then the people measuring success and life by numbers?

Before we make any decision, let’s ask ourselves, “Is it kind, is it beautiful, is it true?” This way we will keep walking the path of true success. Success that can’t be measured, but is always known within the heart.

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“I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves — this critical basis I call the ideal of a pigsty. The ideals that have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. Without the sense of kinship with men of like mind, without the occupation with the objective world, the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific endeavors, life would have seemed empty to me. The trite objects of human efforts — possessions, outward success, luxury — have always seemed to me contemptible.” ― Albert Einstein, The World As I See It

Beca Lewis is the author of The Daily Shift.