SUCCESS OR SIGNIFICANCE?

I remember as a little girl running to my mom and dad after having put on my new Sunday dress and waiting on pins and needles to hear them say, “Oh sweetheart, you look so pretty.”  I remember at the age of 5 doing cartwheels and asking my “Mamaw” to give me a rating of 1-10 on how well I did.  I remember being 12 and diving in the pool searching for approval in my masterful swan dive.  I would jump out of the pool and look at my dad and say, “Was it a 10?”

That search for success never stopped as I continued to grow and my accolades started to pile on top of each other.  All-State basketball player, Jr. Olympics, Broadway Musicals, Recording contracts, Olympic Ceremonies, Presidential Prayer Breakfasts, the achievement piled up and yet never seemed to be enough.  No matter how much I accomplished, the drive and hunger for more recognition seemed endless.

Thus the birth of a work-o-holic and over-achiever.  I felt guilty taking a nap because I felt like there was MORE to be conquered in my quest for success.  Then in happened.  At the age of 40, I hired a life coach and said, “I don’t want you to tell me how great I am or give me praise for the past.  What I need you to do is beat the WORST out of me and help my next 40 years supercede the first.  I need you to chip away at any insecurities, limitations or behaviors that could cause me to sabotage the true destiny and calling upon my life.”

And, for the next 90 days, I placed myself on a type of emotional, spiritual and financial operating table with the hopes of being transformed.  AND I WAS.  It was in those 90 days that I realized I had an addiction.  Not an addiction of alcohol or drugs or another supposed tendency.  But what was a massive blind spot in my leadership DNA was that I was suffering from an “APPROVAL” addiction.

I can truly say that the epiphany of my 40’s was a rite of passage that opened my eyes to see the greater things in life as the BEST things in life.  It was in that season that I moved from a pursuit of success to a search for SIGNIFICANCE.  It was a move from how can “I” win to how can I create a winning mindset in the lives of others.  I stepped out of a personal pursuit of greatness to a hunger and thirst for servant leadership that leaves a lasting legacy for others to follow.

Look at any GREAT leader that moves from their 30’s or 40’s and into their golden 50’s and beyond and you will see their attention shift from ME< ME< ME to legacy.  Watch today’s video and see how the mindset of SACRIFICE always precedes a true life of significance and ask yourself, “What do I need to sacrifice that will allow me to be more “others” focused and more legacy minded?

The shift from Success to Significance will be the greatest SHIFT of impact you will ever know.  I would love to hear how you process this blog and what it means to you.  Send me a message on Facebook and let’s continue the conversation!