One Little Success at a Time

If you had asked me about business success a few weeks ago, I would have said, “I have failed at a few of my attempts at business.” It’s because of that thought that I have been exploring Harv Eker’s programs about success, especially his financial blueprint  information. Even though I’ve probably helped a few hundred people improve their health or their lives, I haven’t felt successful at business itself since I stopped being a freelance technical writer. I’ve been digging down to find the source of these thoughts and feelings, and along the way I discovered yet another tool that’s helped me find perspective: the Success Journal.

I often talk about keeping an Appreciation Journal to clear negative thoughts and inspire you to do even greater things. Now I’m suggesting keeping track of your successes as a way to appreciate and acknowledge each little accomplishment you have along the way to your big goals. For the past week, before going to bed I’ve written five successes from my day. They ranged from deep cleaning our bedroom to creating a flyer for an upcoming teleclass. They seem like little things, but when I reviewed them today, I realized that they added up to a mountain of work that I wouldn’t have recognized otherwise.

Some items were actually on my To Do list, but a lot of them happened spontaneously. I categorized them, just to check out the balance in my life, and I was happy to find an even distribution between business, family, friends, self nurturing, and support for the Pacific Mozart Ensemble. I had the feeling that I wasn’t accomplishing anything other than supporting PME, and I was surprised when the list revealed that not to be true. I had done many things that weren’t related to PME at all.

I asked myself why supporting PME felt bigger than all the other things I accomplished. I suspect it’s because most things I can do at my leisure but the business of being Executive Director has definite time constraints and people waiting for results. Otherwise, I’ve mostly organized the rest of my life to do what I want, when I want. So the scheduled responsibility feels more burdensome than my impromptu method of doing my other work.

What did I get from keeping this Success Journal? I was surprised at how settled I felt the first night and still feel after one week. When I reviewed my day, I realized that I had been far more productive than I had thought. Then, I actually congratulated myself for finishing projects and got into bed feeling quite content. I feel very satisfied with my productivity for the week, and I even had time to read a whole mystery! My enthusiasm is really high and I feel motivated to do more than usual! That’s a pretty good return on an investment of two minutes.

Also, I’ve given some thought to my statement at the beginning of this article. In order to be success-oriented, I’ll revise it to say that I have wisely chosen not to pursue a few businesses that I started. It is truly successful to decide to stop doing something that isn’t working! Hey, I like that.

Weekly Challenge

Each night before retiring, write at least five things you accomplished during the day. At the end of a week, check to see if your accomplishments are balanced  among the various aspects of your life. Also notice how your self esteem is affected by this brief exercise!

© 2006, Jacqueline Hale