What if...I Succeed?

Becoming a published author was a dream of mine that grew out of my love for writing biblical fiction, and it's been a wild ride that I wouldn't trade for anything. But one of the things I’m learning now that I’ve achieved a certain level of my dream is that it's not the finish line I once assumed it would be.

This is actually good news, but it’s jarring and unnerving to realize at first. When you’re pursuing something for so long, it's easy to get caught up in the process, daydreaming about how you think success will change your life without really knowing how to define that ethereal change. Then, when you achieve what you were initially after, your first question is...now what?

Success often doesn't change your life in the way you thought it would; instead, it presents more opportunities and more questions.

One of the things I’m learning from this phenomenon is that a certain measure of success can be as detrimental as failure--in some cases, even more so. When we fail, we're encouraged to learn from our mistakes, and there's always the possibility of a better future since there’s nowhere to go but up. At least, that's the best perspective to have regarding failure.

But the danger with success is that you can either become arrogant thinking there’s nothing else to learn or you can stagnate in fear of being unable to duplicate your previous success. Some of the most powerful people in Hollywood have admitted to living in fear that each project will be their last, fear of what will happen if what they’ve built their life on eludes them. Fear of peaking. This is a sad way to live your life since peaks and troughs are inevitable parts of our journey on Earth. Plateaus and disappointments are inescapable.

The natural tendency when hearing this is to be afraid of success, but I would argue that being afraid of success is just as bad as being afraid of failure because you’re putting something above God and the ability He’s put in you to overcome through Him. If you fear success, you’re saying: "I don’t believe God is in this; I don't think He can help me navigate and manage this to His glory."

We need to learn from success just as much as we need to learn from failure. Neither one should paralyze us with fear. God can help us with both. It's important to keep in step with the Spirit and stay awake for the journey. Understand that your success is going to be in layers.

It’s a lot like driving towards a mountain. You think you know what it will look like based on what’s in the distance, but when you get up to it, you see that the range is made up of multiple peaks, and it’s going to take even longer to get to the specific hiking trail you were after. Similarly, success is layered and faceted. Each milestone will open up many more opportunities to learn about yourself and your field, as well as to grow in godly maturity. And your future success and long-term legacy often depends on how well you steward those uncomfortable opportunities.

The key to managing success well is the same as managing failure well.

Stay alert to what God is saying; ask Him questions about everything. Stay flexible. Stay teachable. Resist the urge to judge circumstances based on your initial understanding.

When I first started publishing books, there were a lot of nuances that really troubled or embarrassed me. There were also elements that were so amazing that I was confused about why they didn’t make more of a difference. I needed a lot of perspective.

And that’s what happens with achieving anything: kids, marriage, new home, new ministry, new career…everything you achieve will open up more areas where you need perspective. Be willing to humble yourself and learn from God and others and deepen your experience.

Success is changeable. There will always be some new peak to strive for. But it’s not about duplicating your success or others’. It’s about asking God what He wants to do through you in this season and embracing it all. Embrace the struggles and successes alike as opportunities for growth. Keep learning.

If you purpose to do this consistently, you'll unlock a super exciting way of life where you don’t stagnate, and you don’t live in fear because you know that your identity and worth isn't bound up in one external thing. If one season closes, another one opens. Success and failure are both wonderful teachers, proof that you're living a life of purpose.

And with God’s perspective, you can see the value of both.

#jubileelipsey #failure #success #selfpublishing #indieauthor