Success is an inside job. To be successful we must first think that we ARE successful.

Everyone measures it differently. Some measure it by how much money they make. Others measure it by their career path and corresponding title. Then you have the people who measure it by the things that they have such as the size of their house, their art and jewelry, and the number of cars that they own. Others measure it by the state of their health.

As children, many of us measured success by the friends we had. Were we in the "in-group" at that back table in the cafeteria, or were we outside looking in?

So I'll ask it again - how do you measure success? It's different for everyone.

As I sat down at my computer today to put together our newsletter, I decided to search on-line to see what articles I could come up with on this topic. So I did a search on the words "success articles" to see what other people have written about it.

You know what I got? Thousands of pages of success stories. from health to business to website marketing to you name it. Page after page of advice on how to be successful at this and how to be successful at that.

Gave me quite a headache. It sure seems like everyone has an opinion on what I should be doing and how I should be doing it.

In my humble opinion, success cannot be measured in the material things that I have, nor can it be measured by my job title (and I have a lot of those). To me, success is an inside job. To be successful you must FEEL successful on the INSIDE.

You can have all the money, houses and status that you like, but if you do not FEEL successful on the inside, then you will feel like a hamster running on its wheel in a cage. You'll be chasing success all your life and will never achieve it.

Easy for me to say right?

Listen, I have been in your shoes and have been on the brink of despair many times. I have been in the eye of the storm more times that I care to count. I have lived through a dark childhood, I have seen negative numbers in my bank account, and I have seen the loss of both my parents to name a few. I made it through to the other side because I never gave up, and I decided to change how I felt about it all.

You see when life gets you down and throws you to the ground, you have two choices: you can lie down there and wallow in it and feel sorry for yourself, or you can get up. I chose to get up.

Easy right?

Not really because it sometimes took me years to get up. Now as I sit here and write this, what song comes up on the radio? Gloria Estefan singing, "Get on your feet, get up and make it happen." She's right actually... NOW GET UP!!!

What I have learned over the years is that you have two choices. You can live your life in fear or in love. If you choose fear (like I did for years) it becomes a life-changing thought that can propel you into a direction that you don't want to go. It feels like a runaway train that you are incapable of stopping and can't jump off, and consumes you until you can't think of anything else.

You become focused on the outside and obsess about what you should do and where you should go. You focus on how you should fix what is wrong in your life, and what you should be doing. You begin to get sick and tired all the time and sleep a lot. Then you begin to think that the answer to your life can be found on the outside in someone else... is there a book I can buy? A person I should visit? A doctor I should see? A tape I should listen to? Certainly someone has the answer I seek!

Outer focused.

I did it for years and years.

Today is a brand new day. It's a brand new world. You can see the world as positive, abundant and prosperous or you can choose to live the old way and see the negativity, lack and fear. It's your choice!

I have no answers for you because the answers you seek are already inside of you. You know them already. It's just a matter of getting quiet and listening to your intuition. Your inner voice if you will. You know where you should be going and what you should be doing. You have all the answers!

Follow your heart because it knows the way.

If you want to be successful, then you must first think of yourself as successful!

I suggest that you write a list of what you are proud of in your life. Write each accomplishment on a piece of paper. Mine looked like this:

Graduated from college with a BA

I have an incredible husband and wonderful children

I am healthy

Wrote three books

And so on

BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF! You deserve it!

Now read the list. See? You already are successful! Look at how much you have done already!!! Be proud of that because you did an excellent job! Do I have to get Barry Manilow to sing "Looks like you've made it" for you to believe that you already are a success?

So back to my original question. How do you measure success? Do you measure it by... money? Relationships? Career? Health? Sales?

If you THINK that you are successful, then you will BE successful. Whatever you think about yourself. You're absolutely right!

How did I do it? I followed my inner voice and chose to see myself as successful. I ignored the negativity and looked at life as abundant, compassionate and prosperous. Then, when life got me down and threw me to the ground (which it still does occasionally), I got up.

So stand tall everyone! You have so much to be thankful for!! Look UP and not down. Choose your new path and start walking! YOU DESERVE IT!

And when life and stress get you down?

Look up my friend. Look up.