Let them pat their own backs…

Daily writing prompt
When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?

First of all, I think that the prompt would have been far more entertaining if they’d asked about failures… just sayin! I could have had a glorious time picking out a hilarious mistake to write about, and who I thought was to blame, lol! Secondly, why should I write about one person, in particular?

If I could have it my way… oh, wait…I can! This is my website, so I get to do whatever I’d like, right?

Perhaps, I’ve become jaded over time, what with the daily struggle to survive, and all. Maybe, I’m just sick of always watching entitled furry fruit bags, strut around flaunting what they got, like it was the end all, be all!

The point is that I am feeling aggravated this morning, and WordPress, you’re NOT helping! I’m fairly confident in saying that these prompts being repeated year after year after year after year, tells me that WordPress has either successfully pushed my angry button, or successfully made me rethink why I bother answering the prompts, at all!

I’m successful sometimes, and a failure, at others… aren’t we all? Some might focus their attention on a musician, writer, actor, or other specific artist that accomplished great things, sure. But, what about the thousands of human hands and feet that make someone else so successful, like the workers in those wonderful car factories, or the farmers who work to feed them, the ones who build those houses for the successful people to live in. The list is endless.

Success is defined as what, I wonder? Let’s take a look…

suc·cess /səkˈses/

noun: success; plural noun: successes

  1. 1. the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.”there is a thin line between success and failure”
    • the attainment of fame, wealth, or social status.”her success owed more to hard work than luck”
    • a person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains fame, wealth, etc.”overall the fair was a great success”
  2. 2. archaicthe good or bad outcome of an undertaking.”the good or ill success of their maritime enterprises”

You see, I believe that every human being has the potential for being successful in whatever they pursue. Now, there isn’t anything wrong with using someone else’s success as your personal motivator, but the danger in that is an insidious and wicked villain, called Comparison. This villain often employs his friends, Self-doubt, Self-pity, and the worst of the gang… Covet! He’s a bugger to get rid of, because once he gets into your space, he assumes that he can stay for as long as he likes!

Honestly, nobody’s ever given me a free ride, on anything! I had to work til my fingers bled, study til my brain went numb, bear the beautiful, yet bitter memories of all my past successes and failures, and have lived most of my recent life, like a rabid Badger, just to stay alive! And, not once, in all those years did I think, if this particular person could go from rags to riches, then so can I. I learned early on that nobody was going to come for me… I had to get up, dust myself off, and walk on.

You know how I often say that when I write out all my grumbles to you guys and gals, by the end, I find that the answers were there all the time… I was just too grumpy to see them. Well, we’ve arrived…

When I think of the word successful, I think of Jesus. He succeeded in absolutely every single thing He was sent to earth to do. Perfect creation, perfect life, perfect example, and perfect prophesy fulfilling death and resurrection. I am successfully alive today, because of a Perfect Savior… now that’s sayin something!

Cookies?

I’m fairly certain that the ground is covered in chocolate brownie dust, not dirt, so the cookies should be safe to eat.

Was He Just a Man?

Daily writing prompt
When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?

In such a short time upon this earth, He healed, saved, resurrected, taught, and ended it with the sacrifice of his own life to make a way for so many, to this very day!

Whether or not one believes Him to be a mere man… when I think of the word “successful,” I think of Jesus, the son of a carpenter… and yet, so so much more!

Why? Because He showed me… from the moment of his birth, all the way through history itself… to save ME!

Here, my sweet friends, have some cookies…

That’s not fair at all…

Photo by Rick Han on Pexels.com

According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, Successful is defined as gaining or having gained success.

The actual word Success is defined as a noun, while Successful is actually an adjective. I decided to look up things on google because I wasn’t sure how to answer this morning.

The actual meaning of just the word Success is a favorable or desired outcome and or the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence.

Daily writing prompt
When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?

I could have simply answered Walt Disney, since he built Disneyland up from no bigger than a fairground, to a dream come to life. But now that I have a clearer picture in my mind of what the prompt question is asking, I refuse to give this answer on the grounds that it is wholly unfair to anybody not on the list.

Absolutely everyone I know, has had some measure of success in their life, at one time or another. Who am I to pick one person over the other for todays answer? Who am I to decide whether my one friend is more successful because she delivered a healthy baby, or the other friend who finally landed her dream career. How superficial does WordPress think I am?

The prompt question also failed to clarify whether there was a number involved. Must we pick someone with only 2 successes or the one that has 8… maybe success came easier for the 8 person, than it did for the one who only sports 2?

As I understand WordPress to be simply giving us questions that offer an opportunity to write either outside the box, or sometimes pretty deep into the pond… I will extend some grace here today. I love to tease and jest over the choice of questions we see everyday, as this has become my style…

I could be flippant and sarcastic, but I choose not to…

I could be rude when I answer, but I choose not to…

I could just not answer, but I choose not to…

Why?

Because, no matter what the question is that WordPress poses for us each morning, it forces me to think outside my mental box which can be quite stuffy and suffocating, if I stay there too long without bringing in some fresh air. I fully enjoy the mental, emotional, and often spiritual stretching that occurs for me every time I answer a tough prompt question. This has truly become my morning brain exercise, before I dive into deep literary content creation.

So I have chosen to answer that I see the potential for success, in each and every soul that I encounter on a daily basis. I have witnessed it in the past in many, and seek to find it in whomever I meet in the future…

Have a Successfully made cookie…

Photo by Cats Coming on Pexels.com

Since there is apparently only one cookie here, you will have to share…. if we each just lick the edge, then it should last for everyone…