Define Success

I recently did a survey via Facebook on the question: What is success? Just a few people responded. Of those people who replied, one ingredient was in every answer. The one thing that defines success for them is - Love. In their response to a definition of success, each and every one of them included love. For them, success is not about the glitz and glamor of wealth or fame. A successful life is about love - giving it and receiving it. A successful life is about healthy relationships because at the core of every meaningful relationship is this one thing - Love.

Deep in the soul of every human being is the desire to love and to be loved. GOD placed relationships in the very middle of Adam and Eve's DNA. That is the reason that He said it was not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2). And most every person since then has pursued relationships because they matter. Something about life is meaningless if relationships are missing.

And so I agree w/ these Facebook Philosophers. A person can spend his/her life building a fortune of wealth or fame and never experience success because they missed out on relationships. However if at the end of the day a person is homeless but has loved others, has that life been successful? According to my survey, the answer is a resounding yes. Love is the root of the tree of success and love is about relationships.

And so the question moves to this level. What does it mean to love? To be loved? How do I know if I have loved? What keeps me from loving? Great questions for a future blog. Stay tuned.