People may tell you that there is no formula for success. In fact, I will be the first person to tell you that. I don’t think there is any one way to do anything, and the more you stray from the traveled road the more likely you are to strike true genius. Yet there are certain ideas that can guide us on the path that is right for us; ideas that make us who we are or carry us to where we need to go.

These are 4 steps to happiness, passion, and success, as told through A. A. Milne quotes from Winnie the Pooh:

“As soon as I saw you, I knew a grand adventure was about to happen.”

What is it that makes you unique? What can you see in yourself that makes you special? Everyone has something, so do not dare to answer this question by saying nothing makes you unique or special. Instead, search for it. Seek it out and seek to understand it. If you have not found it yet, that does not mean it does not exist. If you have found it, nurture it.

People want to be surrounded by exciting people. I don’t mean excitement like the obvious forms of adventure, like being a mountain climber or a cave explorer. I mean the spirit that comes from within, the person you are, not the thing you do.

Once you understand that about yourself, you can conquer your own fears and find the path you should take. You may not see a path, but remember that any road that is used currently was once nothing more than rugged terrain.

“Perhaps the best thing to do is to stop writing Introductions and get on with the book.”

Once you understand what makes you unique, you can begin to turn that into something you are passionate about. for me it would be writing a book, creating an image, or working on a blog post. Those are the things I am passionate about, unfailingly. And from passion comes ideas, and from ideas comes projects, and from projects comes, very simply, life. We live life when we have something to work toward.

But what happens when life stalls, and your ideas never become more than that? We tend to write the same introductions over and over, scared of moving forward (for failure or success) and so we never do. We stay where we are because we understand the ground below us and the sky above us, and we are not sure if the ground will crumble and the sky will fall the further we walk.

But sometimes that fear is not worth holding on to. Sometimes the excitement of exploration is the only thing that will lead you away from your long introduction of your great idea into the execution of your life’s passion.

“If the person you are talking to doesn’t appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.”

After you know who you are, and after you’ve moved your big ideas forward, very often one must find someone else to believe in those ideas. And, even more often, it can feel like the people you are talking to have fluff in their ears. You have a great idea, you tell the world about it, and no one responds.

Or someone responds, and they don’t get it.

Or someone else responds, and they think you’re creepy and shouldn’t be posting pictures on social media…or maybe that’s just me.

Either way, your ideas will not be accepted by everyone. But make sure that they are accepted or not accepted based on your honest and sincere marketing of those ideas. Never be ill-prepared to share what your passion is. Understand your passion, and your worth. Understand your ideas so well that you make people want to hear them. It is difficult to get someone to give their time and attention, but if you are in tune with what you have to offer, and you do so in an appropriate way, someone is bound to listen.

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” 

We are not in a rush, this is not a competition, and you need to challenge yourself based on who you are as an individual. Never become stagnant, and never hold yourself back out of fear, but also do not believe that you are less because you have not achieved a goal in a certain amount of time.

We all work at our own paces. The worst thing someone can do is to think that someone else’s career is in direct competition with theirs. There is no timeline that we must measure ourselves against. Be content with pursuing your passion.

website   |   facebook   |   twitter