Success

We had a wind-whipped, awe-inspiring trip to the Sand Dunes National Park outside of Alamosa over the long weekend.Everyone made it to the top of the highest dune in North America; the 750 foot Star Dune. Stellar views, family bonding, lots of dirt, and even a scenic waterfall - can't ask for more than that in a weekend! More photos and poetry to follow.

Our trip was successful, certainly, and almost miraculously so after 18 months of illness and knee surgery / recovery. On the journey I was pondering a new definition of success that a friend of mine gave to me last week. She heard it third-hand from a motivational speaker whose name has been forgotten, but whose words live on here:

Success is:
1. Having someone to love
2. Having something to do
3. Having something to hope for

Lots of scope for modification and extrapolation in this formula but stripped down to this essence success looks pretty simple. As I was reviewing my notes for today I saw that my daughter had added one more factor:

4. Being Appreciated

Think she might be right on with that addition. My biggest caveat with this formula is the "having something to do" piece. I have a lot to do, but are the tasks meaningful? Or, assuming that food, clothing, car service are meaningful to my kids, are they meaningful to me?  I suppose some sage would say that we can imbue any task with meaning, but I'm still looking for a consistent, out-of-home task that gives me great satisfaction.

Wishing you success today!