“Success is blocked by concentrating on it and planning for it. Success is shy. It won’t come out while you’re watching.”
Tennessee Williams
“Success is shy” — this intriguing idea prompted me to search my author quotes for other thoughts on success. Here are some to ponder:
“Your success and happiness lie within you.”
Helen Keller
“Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love.”
David McCullough
“Eighty percent of success is showing up.”
Woody Allen
“Everything bows to success, even grammar.”
Victor Hugo
“I have learned that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
Henry David Thoreau
“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates a talented individual from a successful one is a lot of hard work.”
Stephen King
“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.”
Winston Churchill
“To love what you do and feel that it matters — how could anything be more fun?
Katherine Graham”
“There is only one success: to be able to spend your life in your own way.”
Christopher Morley
“What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. When we do what we are menat to do, money comes to us, doors open for us, we fell useful, and the work we do feels like play to us.”
Julia Cameron
“Success is a finished book, a stack of pages each of which is filled with words. If you reach that point, you have won a victory over yourself no less impressive than sailing single-handed around the world.”
Tom Clancy
I hope a phrase or sentence here catches fire for you today as you write on!
Your first quote about success by Tennessee Williams really strikes a chord with me. It’s not about writing. You know well I am not a writer. I am struck by they notion of success being “shy”. Recently at my job, I found myself alone in a decision which would effect people. Risking negative feedback, I went out of my comfort zone to stand by my decision and took certain action. Thinking the impact would be too strong, I was concerned until I went back to work the next day. Low and behold, the result was positive. The unexpected success snuck up on me and others.
Hi Janis,
Thanks so much for sharing your story and your unique take on “shy success” — it’s so inspiring! You may not be a writer, but you are very creative and compassionate. So often when we think of success, we focus on results. But by following your heart and doing the best thing for your patient, you created a special kind of success — one that doesn’t depend on results — but on following your heart. Bravo!
Love, Karin
Date: Thu, 14 May 2015 05:33:22 +0000 To: kmja_w@hotmail.com