A friend of mine posted this status on her Facebook page today:
“What’s better than waking up, having your professional life validated
and getting paid for it !?!?”
This is from a woman who, less than three years ago, quit her safe, reliable job to follow her passion with just the start of an idea. She was unsure what her journey would look like, was understandably nervous and did it anyway. Rock on my friend!
But, as cool as this post was, what I found even more remarkable was a comment someone else left about the post:
*needed to hear this to take the next step*
There it is- not only is she feeling inspired by her own life- her success is inspiring others. Which, I think is the essence of creativty done well.
We’re sometimes afraid to tout our own successes, aren’t we? To be proud of ourselves, especially when we forge our own paths. We don’t want to seem like we’re bragging. We don’t want others to feel bad if they aren’t experiencing the same thing. And sometimes, trutfully, people react negatively when we share too much happiness.
Sure, maybe a few will. Usually those are the people who can’t bring themselves to follow their own dreams or who live a life that is safe and dependable, even though they know they want more. Your success will be scary to them and they may lash out in fear or in pain they don’t even know they experience. They’ll couch it differently, but in the end, no matter how much they want you to think otherwise, it really has nothing to do with you.
And there is a more important group of people. Those who need, NEED, to hear you tell your story. They see you get excited about your successes and pick yourself up when you fall. Without your inspiration, they will never find the courage to follow their own dreams. Your success is proof to them that they should take a risk. It’s an awesome resonsibility and you owe it to the world to shout your success from the mountaintops (or at the very least, on Facebook.)
One of my favorite quotes of all time, written by Marianne Williamson goes, in part, like this:
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other
people won’t feel insecure around you.
So go out there today and be proud of your success, great or small. Tell anyone who will listen. Those steps forward you experience aren’t just for you and your dreams; they are also for the people around you who need your inspiration to take their own next steps. Your enthusiasm is infectious. Toot that horn baby, you never know who needs to hear you today!
P.S. – Special thanks to my friend Stefanie for inspiring all of us. Give her some love and check out her awesome recipes and ideas about eating local and deliciously at her website, Hogtown Homegrown or her FB page, Hogtown Homegrown.
Love this, Regina.. After heading to law school at age 39 and graduating at age 43, I shared my journey with all of my friends on facebook. Later, I learned I inspired one friend to go to nursing school, and another, just recently, told me I inspired him to go to law school. After opening my own practice upon admission, I learned I inspired a few others to do the same. Sharing success does have a purpose. Those 4-5 people I inspired – their lives are changed forever. Why? Not because I earned a degree. Because I shared my journey – and now, inspiring them is worth more to me than the Juris Doctor that led me to inspire them in the first place
Yup- that’s exactly the dynamic I’m talking about. So glad you got the chance to know how much of a difference you made!
That is also one of my favorite quotes. Success does inspire success… I think we worry that talking about our good fortune could make others feel bad. I sometimes think about this during joys and concerns. All that joy and sorrow juxtaposed can be tricky.