CARE YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS

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How are you stepping into your season of success? 

I overheard a conversation recently when a young man told another young man, “Your job is to supplant your parents.”  I begin contemplating about their conversation and wondered if the young man knew the definition of supplant.  One definition is to take the place of (another), as through force, scheming, strategy, or the like.  The other definition is to replace (one thing) by something else. 

You have heard phrases such as:

  • It’s a dog eat dog world.
  • It’s all about survival of the fittest.
  • You have to do whatever to survive.
  • It’s a jungle out there.
  • It’s a rat race.
  • One day you’re a star, the next you’ve been replaced by younger talent.

Each of these statements has some truth to them.  However, if you completely believe these assertions 100% then you may believe it is okay to step on others to get to your success.

Competition versus Caring

Competition is an age-old problem that started before the marketplace that we are familiar with.  It goes all the way back to stories in the Bible with Cain and Abel and also Esau and Jacob.  Both of these stories are filled with jealousy, comparisons, and competition.  Matter of fact, in the story of Esau and Jacob Genesis 27:36 says, “Is not he rightly named Jacob? For he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright: and behold, now he hath taken away my blessing.”

This brings us back to the word with began with, supplanted.  The attempt to supplant someone will likely lead to disgruntlement, pain, and isolation.  Of course there is healthy competition, but in our world today there is a lot of competition and not enough caring.  And competition and comparisons are thieves of joy.  Being at peace and having joy is needed to sustain a healthy life.

It is never appropriate to undercut or take advantage of anyone.  There is nothing wrong with having a desire to be successful, but the question is – How are you going about trying to achieve your success?

Your attitude towards how you will approach your success is so important.  You don’t have to prove anything to anyone whether it is family, co-workers, a boss, or anyone else.  Be yourself, but more importantly show others how much you care.  Regardless of the environment, good leaders have to find a way to care more than compete.

Let me leave you with this; American author, speaker, and leadership expert John Maxwell said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

It is our caring spirit that brings us success.  Caring has less drama than competition.  Less drama means more peace, but also means better relationships.  Better relationships leads to great levels of success.

So how successful would you like to be?  Are you driven by competition or caring?  How are you showing other that you care?  Please leave a comment below, send me a tweet on Twitter, or leave a comment on Facebook.

Simply Jackie

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