I have a mentor who embodies my image of success. Due to her practice of personal evolution, that image of success is a moving target.
The other day she told me that she has stopped doing consulting work and that she no longer accepts public speaking engagements. This unnerved me because those two things (consulting and public speaking) define success for me. As in, once I have consulting and public speaking gigs I will be successful. Now that she has dropped that, everything is in conflict.
It has me asking the question, am I working toward an image of success, or am I doing the work?
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Lauren,
I relate to this question: am I working toward an image of success, or am I doing the work?
I believe the image of success is an important factor in setting goals and living with focused intention. I think you are right on the money when you call it a moving target, though; I wonder, how would you define the conflict that has arisen at the news of the change for your mentor?
Ashley-good question. My mentor has reflected back to me an image of success and that image has aligned with other “success images” that I have received and observed. As a writer and teacher I see many “successful” people who travel and speak and consult. But now my success image and my mentor are no longer in alignment. That is where the conflict arises.
This also uncovers another conflict that I hadn’t realized before. What my mentor has effectively done is narrowed her work to writing…because she is a writer. And yet in my mind, a successful writer is one who speaks and travels and teaches. But the speaking and traveling is not the the writing. So the image does not reflect the work.
I do not think that consulting and speaking are wrong. But I realize that if I want to do the work, I need to do the work instead of creating alternative images and of success that might actually detract from the work.