Success and Envy

It’s damn hard for me to admit it when I feel envious of another, but I’ve had a few situations lately where I simply can’t deny it.

First of all, I am green with envy (curious phrase, wonder where it comes from?) over the resounding success of the book “Eat, Pray, Love.” This book took off in a viral way, what most writers only dream of! And then to be on Oprah, twice no less!

But what I envy the most is how useful this book has been to millions worldwide. It is basically a simple tale of midlife crisis and self-discovery. We all have stories like that if we’ve made it this far. Having the experience is one thing, learning the lessons offered is another. Sharing those lessons with others in a way that speaks to them personally, that’s the whole ball game!

I LOVE THE IDEA OF REACHING OTHERS IN THIS WAY!

Another person I’m quite envious of, is the woman who taught me about blogging this past October. Her wildly successful blog: www.millionairemommynextdoor.blogspot.com  is about 5 months old. It’s about personal finance. She is really quite remarkable because she decided at age 30 that she would become a millionaire by age 40, and she succeeded! She’s all about buying and selling stocks and telling others how to find success in the markets. No wonder she’s very popular!

But I was shocked when she recently got a short spot on the Montel Williams Show just because of her blog! She said her blog count went to 21,000 the day after she appeared on TV. The good news is that the money she makes through her blog all goes to helping the poor in Africa with no-interest loans. She’s a millionaire. She doesn’t need the money.

My point is that money would be nice, but in my case, just knowing that what I had to say impacted peoples’ lives in a good and useful way would be plenty for me.

We all have to ask ourselves at some point:

What is the purpose of all I do every day?

Especially in midlife these questions arise spontaneously.

If we’re stuck in a job we hate but don’t feel empowered enough to go somewhere else and try something different, if we’re timid about changing jobs or relationships because we truly don’t believe in something better for ourselves, if we’re simply frustrated with the same old, same old.

Do we have the power to be different?

I liked one tip from Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love. I’ve tried it quite a few times since I heard about it.

Write down every day:  1) What do I really, really, really want?

2) What was my happiest moment yesterday?

3) What do I say over and over again to myself every day? This is your mantra. Would you like to change it?

I have found that this small daily exercise raises my awareness of how well I am keeping my eyes on the prize, rather than discouraging myself with negative thoughts. Plus it definitely raises my gratitude quotient.

I offer these thoughts to you to possibly decrease the envy and our apparent inherent need to compare ourselves to others. When we focus even a small amount of energy on how much we already have in our lives, we may be shocked that it is still not enough! 

All that you are looking for is here.

Tagged as: Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert, midlife success