Recently, I had the opportunity to be a guest on the author corner of Rick Tocquigny’s Success Made to Last podcast. Rick is a long-time friend and an amazing human being who finds success in nearly everything he does. It was fun to catch up with him a bit and try to answer some of his more challenging questions. I posted the link for you at the end of this blog, if you’d like to listen to it. It’s about thirty minutes long.
Doing the interview made me reflect on what it means to be successful, and more than that, to have the kind of success that is lasting and sustainable. Over time, I’ve changed my views on what success means to me. I once thought success was all about capturing a big share of the market and having a book that everybody everywhere wants to buy. Well, that is success of a sort, but as good as it is, it is difficult to maintain. I also thought success had something to do with getting people to know my name as an author, getting them to want the next Karen Moore book. It turns out that as a devotional book writer, people seldom buy a book because of the author’s name. They buy it because it has a title that somehow speaks to their hearts and minds. So, even though I’ve written well over one hundred books, few people have ever heard of me.
For the first time in my life though, I feel successful. Here’s why. God has given me a chance to do work that I value and love. He’s inspired my thoughts and my writing. He’s filled me with a sense of purpose. In my heart of hearts, I want to give readers another perspective about what it means to have a living faith. I want to give them another opportunity to get a glimpse of the God who IS, who created them and adores them. Though I may not be on the best-sellers list every time a new book appears, I know that somebody somewhere reads the words written with love and humility and feels God is still in control and that they can be at peace. I love it when somebody is reenergized, inspired by what they read. I love to share with readers the things I most need to hear because we’re all in this together. We’re all learning and struggling to get through this life business with as much dignity as possible. We want to find the joy that makes it all worthwhile.
When I get a brief note from a reader that says something like, “I really needed to hear that today!” or “Thank you for giving me good things to think about,” then I feel successful.
So, I hope the same for you. Whatever you do for a living, whatever good you try to offer this world, I pray you will feel that you’ve created a kind of success that is meant to last.
May God bless the work of your hands and bring new joy to your heart as you consider how successful you already are.