Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Artful, Heart-full Success: What's Your Secret?

“If you dare nothing,
then when the day is over,
nothing is all you will have gained.” 

Mixed Media Lamp amyoes.com
Success...some musings

I've been doing some thinking about what success means to me.  I've reached a milestone in my life - I've just gotten married, I'm half-way through my college career, and my life's passion blended with my life's beautiful detour have taken me in breathtakingly new directions in terms of my career and my goals.


When we say "I want to be successful", what are we looking for?  Happiness, Stability, fulfillment of our core values?  Satisfaction?

There's more art up in my Gallery today!!!  Check it out :)
I write a bit about finding success, luck and happiness for Sharp Heels.

Here's a bit of it...
Thoughts and Motivation on Regaining – and Keeping – Them After Misfortune  
“I wish I were happy.” We’ve all been there. We look back on our childhood memories, or those of an old boyfriend from ten years ago, stare at old photographs fondly, and dote on what we mistily-eyed regard as “better” times, thinking, “I was happy then…why can’t I be that way now?”
I still miss old times; after all, don’t we all come across childhood photos, and wish that things could be as simple as a fourth-grade talent show or a Polaroid snapshot of a family dinner? I still go through family albums occasionally, captivated by that innocent childlike “happiness” beaming from every smiling red-eyed kid in the pictures.
But what exactly is happiness?  Does it come and go, but still feel the same way in your heart every single time? Or does it grow, evolve and mold into different forms at each stage of your life?  Can you ever get it back once you lose it?
 Read the rest of the article on Luck and Happiness HERE.
Once we're successful, are we automatically happy?  Or is success an insatiable need, some kind of momentum that keeps us going, and forever reaching?  

On Lifehack.org there was an article about the 50 habits of successful people.  What do you think?

I'm going to define it as a small metaphor.  Success is finding satisfaction in the little things.  Nature, family, values...and it's also diving into that one project you've been intimidated by.
Case and point:  I bought a lampshade for $10.  I wanted to do something with it but had no idea what to do.  I wanted to branch out artistically.  I made a mixed media lamp.  And that was my small success for the day :)


I wrote a poem about success I'd love to share with you.  Let me know what you think - 

What does success mean to you?

Success
By Amy Oestreicher
2015
Success is getting up and starting the day
Success is getting through a different way
Success is accepting a hard way to feel
Success is embracing what’s now and what’s real
Success is making yourself smile when you’re down
Success is a soul-nourishing lunch date downtown
Success is a good talk with your family
Success is a small step towards self-discovery

As you go through this weekday’s lengthy routine
It’s easy to put up a filter or screen:
“It’ll never get better, I can’t do this right –
All I do is struggle from day until night.”
Don’t let small slips taunt or make you lose hope
Or tempt you to quit or unhealthily cope
Just focus on one action that you can work towards
That may turn a wall into wide-opened doors

Courageously passionate, keen and consistent
As long as you press on – be brave and persistent
Do not get discouraged from one awful instant
Don’t pity yourself or become numb and distant
Because you succeed when you never give up
Your own back is patted, half-filled is your cup
Tell yourself “Perhaps I could have done things better,
But I will just exhale, get myself together,

I’ll process what happened, forgive myself, then
Take one more breath and start over again.”
Success is acknowledging how far you’ve come
When you’re hungry from more, remember where you started




But don’t get hung up on one thing that went wrong
Learn from events, then keep moving along
Having passionate dreams is exciting but rough -
Whatever you do might not feel like enough

We all need a confidence boost sometimes
When struggles appear without reason or rhyme
So listen up, your inspirations not far -
Do you know how strong and determined you are?
YOU’RE your own hero in this wondrous story
Each tiny success amounts to epic glory
Name three things that you did today that surprised you
Did you let your intuition guide and advise you?

Did you execute plans with a slickness and slyness
Or initiate some random act of great kindness?
Remember that no one is perfect or steel
We’re just flesh and blood, and our struggles are real
We’re fragile like glass, though we’re tough like tree bark
We’re specks in this world, but we can make our mark
So do one thing meaningful, something inspiring
Do something with all the skills you’re acquiring

Keep your mind open – face NOW with a “YES”
Just being receptive to all life’s success
Succeed by giving thanks to your little errors
Succeed by confronting life’s fears and small terrors
If you keep beating up yourself for your faults
You’ll run ‘round in circles – a get-nowhere waltz
Lift up your chin and keep moving ahead
Don’t curl in a ball and crawl back into bed

You struggled – so what?  Each blessed moment is new
What you choose to do with it’s all up to you.
So decide right now, do you want to succeed?
Allow your own progress at a steady speed?
Your mind has the power to defeat or commend you
Don’t let your thoughts discourage, hurt or offend you
Know that you’re trying your best to reclaim
Your beautiful self – there’s no guilt here or blame

There’s bound to be thorns in a garden of flowers
We can’t do it all right in 24 hours
So focus on ONE thing that you did today
To flaunt all your values in one bold display



 

Just asking for help is a way to succeed
Success is examining what you truly need
So start off this morning and boldly express
That you are the picture of health and success!



“...maybe sometimes it's riskier not to take a risk. Sometimes all you're guaranteeing is that things will stay the same.” 
― Danny WallaceYes Man

14 comments:

  1. Mesmerizing arts. And I like that quote of Neil Gaiman. I've heard his works will be made into movies soon.

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  2. It's quite a pretty lamp. And such an inspirational post.

    http://www.postcardsfromtheworld.com/cant-avoid-falling-love-buenos-aires/

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  3. wow...wish I had a pinch of that talent in my pinky!

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  4. Beautiful lampshade! I love it! Thanks for sharing at Inspiration Thursday!

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  5. Success is to love and serve the Lord with everything we've got. Thanks, neighbor. Blessings to you and yours!

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  6. Hi Amy! Lovely artwork! I enjoyed your post, it's very inspiring and beautiful to look at.

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  7. Beautiful post. Great reflection on success. I find that's one that I constantly have to go back on think about because a lot of time, success gets defined by others and it's hard to not let that influence how you want to live your life. Thanks for sharing. #ConfessionsLinkUp

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  8. Visiting from the Survivors Facebook page! Pretty stuff!

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  9. You definitely captured the essence of success...or at least what we should all consider it to be. I know for many it is about money but for me it will always be about the richness achieve from my relationships with friends, family and community. Thanks for sharing via #JoyHopeLive link up.

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  10. The lamp shade is pretty cool....thanks for linking up with us at #JoyHopeLive

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  11. Hi, love your art work and poetry. Thanks for linking up with us a Literacy Musing Mondays. I love reading your posts and looking at the great paintings and works of art.

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  12. Thanks for sharing your art!!! it is really beautiful #Alittlebitofeverything

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  13. Wonderful post. It got me to thinking about the differences between success and happiness. So often they are equated, when really they shouldn't be. People say, I'll be happy when.... fill in the blank with a goal. I get that promotion or something similar. However, once that goal is reached, instead of that person finding happiness, they find a challenge to raise the bar and start working toward a new goal, thus never reaching happiness by that definition. Happiness is different for everyone, but the more I think about it, the more I know happiness is not success. They are different, though possibly related. Thanks for making me think, it's always good to get the gears turning in the mind. Thanks also for linking up to the Sunshine Life blog link up. I enjoy reading your thoughts and your story.

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