Your Happiness and Success...

What does being happy and being successful really mean to you? Being happy is wonderful and it is an experience that everyone should feel at one time or another. Success is great but if you cannot share it with anyone, is it really that great? If you were to ask me which I would prefer it would be a tie, you see because I want both. Happiness is a terrific feeling whether it be in family life, relationships, dating, work, etc. Success is something that takes a long time to achieve and it only seems fair that you would want that someone special to be near you when you were experiencing this. Do you have someone that you can talk to about almost anything, good or bad and know that they won't judge you, but that they will listen and respond accordingly? Happiness and success are two concepts intertwined with one another. These are two of the most important ingredients that will eventually define a person’s life. How do you want your life to be defined?

If you think about it, happiness and success are two things that are relative to a person’s point of view since these are dependent on one’s ideologies. Happiness and success relate to a target or reference point. Some people think if you are happy, you are blind to reality. Aren't we all at some point? But when we research it, happiness actually raises every single business and educational outcome for the brain. How did we miss this? Why do we have these societal misconceptions about happiness? Because we assumed you were average. Listen, don't beat yourself up...happiness is what you make of it just as success is as well. 

So... what does it mean to be successful?

A simple question but this definition can have various notations it’s all depends on individual fate and values. Nevertheless, regardless of one’s values or fate we all need money to achieve our goals.
The only thing there, is how much of it is necessary to satisfy one’s interest. If we actually think that to be successful imply that we must want money as much as we want to breathe than we might as well drown because if that’s the value we go by, than the more we have the more we are going to want. Material possessions don't buy love and they really don't keep you warm at night, do they?
Sure, we all like having really nice things but I would give it all up in a heart beat for my own true happiness. Oh, wait a minute, I did.

The truth of the matter is that the meaning of success deviates depending on the individual. However, what it means to be successful to one person may not be for the other. And for that we say success is relative to one’s goals. Whereas success for one person may be the accomplishment of a successful book which will bring him/her some income - for the next person that may not be enough. In this case the author gives more value to the knowledge that he/she has shared with the world as oppose to the money, while some may see no success in that.

Success can be as meaningful as the victory over a deadly disease, let say cancer or a severe case of diabetes. Success can also be defined as someone who has the ability to maintain his/her protocol without having to be rich as long as they’re happy. There are people in this world who are filthy rich and yet are not happy.

How do you measure success? Those who said that money is success couldn’t have been so wrong. Money is the advantage point of success; it is what one does with it that will determine how successful one is. People do not remember us because of how much money we have, but instead because of how we have influenced their lives. Lets take for example; Beyonce. She is not successful because of how much money she own. She is successful because her songs have touched the lives of many others. That makes for success and happiness. She just so happened to have a talent that attracts a lot of money, but had her talent not drawn that much money she still would have been successful for the lives that she has touched. Some people get so wrapped up in the material crap that they can't see the forest through the trees. It's a shame too. They just don't get it.

When we study people, scientists are often interested in what the average is. If we study what is merely average, we will remain merely average. Many people think happiness is genetic. That's only half the story, because the average person does not fight their genes. When we stop studying the average and begin researching positive outliers -- people who are above average for a positive dimension like optimism or intelligence -- a wildly different picture emerges. Our daily decisions and habits have a huge impact upon both our levels of happiness and success.

 Happiness may breed success. A person may say that he is happy because he just finished his studies or he just met a fine woman. A person may say he is successful because he was just promoted to a higher position. When one talks about happiness and success, a certain goal or perhaps an achievement is always the reference point. A person will constantly ask himself if he is happy or if he can consider himself successful. Many people become depressed because they cannot seem to make sense of all the things that are happening in their lives. The most important thing to remember, when evaluating your happiness and success, is that you need to limit your assessment using your own personal standards. Often times, depression comes about because people rely so much on the expectations of others. Oftentimes, the workplace becomes a battleground wherein people live their lives according to the expectations of other people. Then, on the flip side, there are some people who want you to fail. It is because of this type that makes me push myself even harder to succeed. People that wish you unhappiness, in so many words, or thought, are not your friends.

Again, happiness and success depend on your own views. What I think happiness is may not at all be what you envision it to be.It really depends on one’s ideologies.The only thing that we can infer from these two concepts is that these are mutually intertwined. One can say that success brings happiness and happiness is an essential ingredient towards success (i.e. Being happy with one’s work will bring beautiful fruits of labor). Yes, this is true. Some are happy to see us fail. No one fails if they try, so remember that next time someone laughs at you for a great idea that you have and remember that you had the balls to at least give it a try. Enough said?

Happiness and success are two things that all people aspire for in life. There can never be a single definition for both of these concepts. Even dictionaries wouldn’t dare give exact definitions for these words. I dunno...Perhaps, only the human heart can define these concepts. You will know when you are happy or when you can call yourself successful if your heart says so. What is your heart telling you?

www.SimplyDeliciousLingerie.com

Dreams and Ambitions...

So often, we tend do associate "dream" to mean deepest desire, vision or ambition, and "follow your dreams" to mean pursuing your deepest desires.So what is it really? Peace of mind, contentment, hopefulness, well being? Well, what if "dream" were to be interpreted as internal wisdom, and "follow your dreams" meant to be guided and inspired in unique and profound ways by our internal wisdom?In life, sometimes we really only get one true chance to chase a dream. By doing so you are either moving forward, moving backwards, or you are standing still, feeling somehow that life is passing you by…that's because it probably is!

In reality, moving forward, somehow feels better than going backwards or even standing still, certainly when viewed over a longer period of time.Unfortunately, many people spend most of their present moments in the past, and get stuck living their life as if they were looking back through the rear view mirror of their car. Here's is some advice for you...As long as you allow the constraints of your present situation or past experiences, such as past failures or missed opportunities, to control your thinking process, you will never live to see your own dreams come true.Don't think in reverse, because the past is a trail that is left behind. It is only when you decide to move forward or move on that you can become the mental architect of your own personal transformation. 

I was raised to dream big, so naturally I didn't raise my children any differently. We all have ideas of what we want our lives to become. Some people want to get married and settle down, start a family, and some want to succeed in other ways such as in business. So where do you start? The first step is to get specific about what you want from life. Many people have a tendency to stagnate or drift in life, because they either don't know what they want or they live their life fulfilling the expectations of others.In order to live your dream, stop believing in what is, and start believing in what you truly want! How you choose to live your life has everything to do with your chosen beliefs, through which you filter all of your experiences.For years after my divorce I dreamed of owning my own business. Even if that business was just a 'mom & pop' type business, it was my dream. Sometimes we get scared and don't know how to act, or react on decisions. Some people fear falling flat on their faces. Look at me, you don't see any broken bones do you? No, why? Because I fell so many times that I started bouncing back up. Mistakes and failures make us who we are. They build character and that determines what type of person we become. 

My life hasn't been easy, but it hasn't been terrible at all either. In fact, my life has taught me some valuable lessons that enabled me to teach my children. It taught me to fight, and to never give up on something that in your heart you felt so strongly about. Take my kids for example. Both so very different yet in many ways similar. They are unique and extraordinary in ways that I can't even explain. They are givers like myself. The take pride in who they are both on the inside as well as the outside. 

They have traits that only a mother could be proud of. My son, my oldest who is 28 followed his dreams when he changed majors in college at the end of his first degree. He came to me and said "Mom, I want to do something else with my life so I signed up for school in Houston!" My daughter, my youngest 26 had lived there after being relocated for a marketing/sales position and we visited her often. My son hated snow, and cold and loved palm trees, sunshine and fashion...so we packed out bags and moved to Houston. He gave up all of his friends, a good job and family to pursue his dream knowing that he was going to live in NYC when this was all said and done. A few days ago, I moved him from Brooklyn to the upper east side of Manhattan. He's been there for a year. He works in retail in visual merchandising and he loves what he does. He also gets asked to work on movie sets for films shooting in NYC where he gathers costumes and wardrobes for actors/actresses in the films. He is fulfilling his dreams and as a mother I couldn't be more proud of him! 

My daughter, a marketing major from Michigan State lives in Houston Texas, and has resided there since 2008. In two days her life is about to change as she moves to NYC where she too is about to embark on a new way of life and her own true bliss! She is pursuing her happiness, and as a mother, I couldn't be more proud of her! You see, our children are an image of who we are in so many ways. I raised them with the understanding that reality is what we make of it. You can sit back and watch your life go by, or you can make that decision to make a change in your life today that will have great impact on those around you. Don't look back 20 years from now and wonder 'what if?' Tomorrow could change your life.

Look at my own life for example; My siblings are nothing at all like me and their careers in comparison to mine are like night and day. I am and always have been the black sheep of the family and I see that as a good thing, not a bad thing at all. My goals, objectives and realities are all mine. I make my desires and my dreams my destiny. 

What are your dreams? Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? Where do you see yourself 20 years from now? In life we will make mistakes. There is always wiggle room (as I tend to call it) to adjust and reevaluate things so that we can determine how to proceed. Owning my businesses was a big endeavor on my bucket list and another thing that I can now scratch off. A coworker reminded me a few days ago about something on my bucket list that I had mentioned to her a while back. For me, starting a business was  much easier than getting up in front a a bunch of strangers and singing "I Got You Babe" at a karaoke bar with a hottie guy, hopefully the man that I'm destine to end up. I'm narrowing down my bucket list... and checking things off little by little. What are your dreams, and do you have a bucket list? Only you hold the key to your future. Only you can determine what/who will make you happy? 

www.simplydeliciouslingerie.com