Today we ask that you examine your definitions of “success” and “failure.”

What is success?

What is failure?

For many, success is equated with approval.  People approve of what you are doing.  You are rewarded with praise, recognition, and perhaps wealth for what you do.

Failure, conversely, is disapproval.  People disapprove of what you do.  They criticize you.  You are punished for your failures.  No one gives wealth to a failure.

Of course, historically speaking, all the great “geniuses” and innovators were usually considered “failures” at some point.  Many were attacked, and viciously criticized.  Many were poor, and died penniless.

Your Einsteins, your  Van Goghs, your Mozarts — all “failures.”

Moreover, it is the nature of your reality that people are inclined to destroy their heroes.  So people are raised up on high one day, only to be vilified and cursed the next.  At which point they may make a “comeback,” and be loved again.  Or else they are forgotten.

So many famous celebrities, forgotten.  Consider all the silent movie stars, famous in their time, then forgotten.

So what is “success,” really?

What is “failure,” really?

You cannot ever rely on other people’s approval to determine your well-being.  Humans are a terribly fickle species, and are all too inclined to love someone one minute, and hate them the next.

The wise man or woman cultivates equanimity.

This is the state of being whole, and centered.

Does the mountain care what people think of it?

Does the river care what people think of it?

The mountain is the mountain.  The river is the river.

You are you.

Some people will like you.  Others will not.

Approval in no way determines your worth.

Some people are disliked by their own parents.

It has nothing to do with their actual worth.  Many people who are disliked by their own parents create beautiful things in the world.

Just do what you do.

If someone likes it, good.

If no one likes it, also good.

If you continue to create and do, you will find that some people like one thing, and other people like another thing.  There is no accounting for taste.  Sometimes it takes a while for energy to find its way.  Do not be disheartened by “failures.”

Let go of “success,” let go of “failure.”

Just do what you do.