Jesus Christ and Lord Buddha are 2 of the most influential people who walked planet earth.
Imagine billions of followers all over the globe intending to model their lives after your teachings.
I meditate, pray, do Kriya yoga and read A Course in Miracles daily to honor both enlightened beings.
Funny thing; neither dude made a penny once they chose to walk the enlightened path of pure service. Christ never lived a worldly life. Buddha ceased living a worldly experience after renouncing his princely life.
I can say with honesty that both men had a firm impress on humanity. Yet neither earned 1 cent after giving up worldly living.
Why then do people make the common error of judging someone's impact, positive influence, clout and flat out success by how much money they accumulate?
Coach Seen through a Different Prism
I followed a personal development coach for years. Awesome soul in most regards. Clever, witty, and largely high energy, the coach made serious coin, too.
But during a particularly vulnerable moment in my life I reached out to the coach with a compassionate question concerning someone I love.
The coach immediately fired back something to the effect of maybe how I have the issue and the coach would never reach out to the person I wanted coach to connect with, out of the blue.
Immediately, I realized something: the coach is human, had shadows and does a chunk of things from fear, resistance and a lack of wholeness, sometimes. We all do. But I instantly stopped judging the individual as being successful based on their lofty income, in addition to admiring the coach deeply because of their cleverness.
I saw the individual through an honest prism. The coach is successful in some regards but has some worldly shadows. I released the individual from a place of love, compassion and respect and chose to never base my perception of someone's success solely on the amount of money they accumulate.
Freedom
A 7 figure earner once emailed me; he wondered how in the heck I do it all? How did I go pro while circling the globe? Most professional bloggers only go pro by setting up a comfortable, familiar, constant environment in their home office.
I succeed while circling the globe.
My definition of success hinges on doing all I do for freedom. I intend to be free. I follow through on the intent. My success is not bound to money, reliable internet connections or a set home routine.
My success is based on living a life of freedom and teaching other bloggers to do the same.
Success Is Love and Freedom
Never judge someone's success based on money the individual accumulates. Money is just a means of exchange. Acquiring a means of exchange is meaningless, in and of itself. How the individual thinks, feels and acts mostly determines if you want to emulate the individual.
Follow loving, compassionate people who treat others with care, respect, warmth and kindness. I forgave myself and the coach for the experience above but stopped following them immediately because they did not embody love, compassion, respect and warmth during a particularly vulnerable moment of my life.
I wish them the best but only follow kind, free souls these days because that's how I deem someone to be successful: