The idea behind this guest blog tour was to talk about who we wanted to be like in high school, as Grace, in LIKE MANDARIN, wanted to be just like Mandarin. I got there in kind of a roundabout way, but here are my thoughts on the subject...
Have you ever known someone who just seems to have horseshoes up their a$$? Maybe they win every contest or they're just one of those people who seems to be good at EVERYTHING?
I remember a girl like that I went to high school with. Her name was Chelle (pronounced Shelly), and seriously, she had it all. I was a drama geek, and auditioned for every play my school put on, but Chelle was pretty much guaranteed to get the lead--without being a drama geek. Besides that, she was an honor roll student, had tons of friends, and sang with her amazing voice in a school quartet.
I hated her.
Okay, I'm lying. I really didn't hate her, because on top of everything else, she was actually a really, really sweet person. URGHHHH!
One thing I've learned over the years, though, is that talent and good fortune don't happen by accident. I'm still working it all out, but there are some things I believe you can do to make yourself into one of these ultra-fortunate people.
1. Speak the positive. There are a lot of people in the world who seem to just accept the sucky things they've been given in life. They say things like "I guess this is the way my life will always be" or "Yup, it sucks to be me." Instead, speak life into your life. "Things will be better tomorrow." or "Things will seem brighter in the morning."
2. Persevere. If you look at any highly accomplished person in any area of life, you'll see they have had to persevere through difficult times to get where they are. Giving up is the easy way, and that's why so many people take that route. Be among the small percentage of people who persevere.
3. Be thankful. I think this is a key quality of successful people. Notice what you DO have and be thankful for it. Take your eyes off of what others have for a few minutes and really focus on your own good fortune. Thankfulness breeds thankfulness (or things to be thankful for) , but at the same time, jealousy breeds jealousy. Make sure you're on the springboard you want to be on!
4. Be good at everything. I know, that sounds like a crazy one, right? How can you really be good at everything? But if you notice the people who are singularly focused, you may notice they have a difficult time being thankful because all they notice is what they're NOT getting in that one area.Try to be good at several things and I think you'll find that things are usually going well in at least one area.
So, in short, I think the people who succeed in so many areas have such good fortune because they try in so many areas. I'm in the middle of reevaluating my goals, but I've decided to set more than just writing goals. I want to set goals in every area of my life: to be a better wife, mom, teacher, dancer, friend, person, and writer. Because I want to be just like Chelle. I want to be one of those people who seems to have all the luck!
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