Do What You Like To Achieve Success

DweezelJazz — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:00:00 +0000

If you really want to be successful: do what you like. It’s that simple. If we really enjoy something and do it often, we become better and better at it. It’s a very nice thing to say, but can this approach really make us successful?The real question to answer here is: What is success? Success is relative; it very much depends on the context. If we’re talking about a hobby, success can be completing a project. If we’re talking about work, it can mean bringing in enough money to sustain a family. To one person it may mean becoming rich. For another it may just be the satisfaction of accomplishment regardless of monetary return.At whatever level we choose our success, doing what we like is a much better strategy than doing what someone else likes. It’s extremely difficult to know what will please other people. And what pleases one person may displease another. If what we like to do is please other people, then this approach is perfectly suited. But, otherwise, measuring our success in relation to doing anything just to please others doesn’t make much sense. It’s difficult to be fully motivated when the going gets tough if we don’t like what we’re doing in the first place.There are always things we’re obliged to do that we may not like so much. There’s a time for doing what we like. We may have obligations that require us to dedicate much of our time doing something we don’t enjoy. But if we find ways to pursue whatever it is we do like, as much as possible in our spare time, we may find that an opportunity opens up in time. In the future it may become possible to more fully integrate what we like doing with our own goal of success.I have some t-shirts that are super comfortable (which is something I like) and that I love to wear because of what they say. I discovered these a few years ago and have several different colors and designs. They’re from a company called Life Is Good.There’s a story about the two brothers who started this company. At first they tried to sell, door-to-door in college dormitories, t-shirts they had designed. It didn’t go so well in the first years: they lived on peanut butter and jelly and slept in their van. It wasn’t until they included a little character they had created with a super grin, that their t-shirts started to really sell. Jake expressed everything they believed in with his message of optimism. And this idea and passion for what they held dear struck a chord in many others. Now they have hats and shorts, shoes and all sorts of things for sale with Jake and the Life Is Good motto. Following their dream eventually made them successful, even if at first it seemed it wouldn’t be so.On the front at the bottom of the t-shirt is a small patch sewn on which says: “Do what you like. Like what you do.” This cheers me on every time I see it. I also have a yellow Life Is Good baseball cap.You may remember from the Jasmine posts on DweezelJazz blog, that Jazzy chooses a lot of things she does. In fact she expresses her opinion about everything she does or is asked to do. Whenever it isn’t imperative that she do something – which is most of the time – she’s allowed to say no. Quite a while ago, I asked her if she wanted to do something and she clearly didn’t want to. I said to her then, “Ok, Jazzy, do what you like.” I didn’t consciously make the connection with the t-shirts or anything else, but was just allowing her the respect she deserves.I hadn’t said it often, but it seems it meant quite a bit to the little girl, because she worked on it, practicing it herself, long before I knew what she was trying to say. Now it’s her motto; it’s one of the things she says most often (apart from ‘shower’ and the fact that she’s a ‘good girl’). She says it at least once a day, usually in the morning: “Jasmine, do what you like.” And she says it in context and clearly knows what it means.In my book, Jazzy’s a successful character: she’s happy. She gives those around her a tremendous amount by doing what she likes and being who she is.

DweezelJazz Art Blog » life is good

Do What You Like To Achieve Success