Simple question: When you hear the words “successful” and “fulfilled,” do they mean the same thing? In a word: No. They really don’t – at least not in our culture that will define “success” by place, power and accumulation. The issue isn’t that the goals you have reached are not good enough.
Your Goals
The thing is that once the objective is achieved you are standing still again. You have no longer “journey.” You require a journey. You require a direction. You require a dream. Becoming professionally and personally “fulfilled” entails a religious pursuit of recapturing – or detecting – your dreams, and cash is the greater purpose that makes it possible to cultivate this fuller, more balanced life.
Money is the by-product of values-based ambition, which is all about living out your authentic values and beliefs. It’s what moves you from success to significance. You’re intended to give yourself – of your energy, your unique creative expressions, your abilities, and your strengths. In our present culture, achievement is an endpoint. But that is not the reality. You’re a creature of change, curiosity and imagination who needs to constantly have your goals set a bit beyond your reach.
Be prepared!
As a fulfilled woman, your greatest strength is to be prepared. What do I really want to do with my life? As a fulfilled woman, you have to be ready to do what it is you do not need to do. There are a number of things that the promise of cash, or the danger of losing it, induces us to tolerate. I write this without the slightest sign of judgment or reproach, because I am a lady who uttered things at various points in my life that my actualized self would never let now.
As a fulfilled woman, you have to work to discover the hidden landscape of customs, beliefs and patterns that underlie and sometimes subvert the way you use money and other types of energy. Hanging on to a job that’s physically, emotionally and emotionally draining because it provided you with a considerable sum of money, very good health benefits and a retirement program. Holding on to a connection because it provided you with financial protection, though it was clear to you that separation would be ideal for your psychological and spiritual well-being. Being surrounded by all sorts of information, ideas and resources, and something stopped you from using any of it.
Conclusion
Whether you are a woman executive whose corporate life feels just like a tight pair of heels, a professional woman with a nagging restlessness and the desire for something more, or a woman entrepreneur seeking to construct a heart-based business which combines passion, purpose and gain, you want to redefine what it means to be “successful” as you can. By moving from success to significance, your new endpoint is going to be a life as unique as your fingerprint.