The New Crop: Issue #17
What a parable about starfish has to teach us about success
What’s in this issue:
💭 Thought: What does it mean to be “successful”?
😆 Today’s Laugh
This happened at a New York Yankees baseball game last month and I keep forgetting to share it here! Until now. 😆
💭 Today’s Thought
This is one of my favorite parables:
Strolling along the edge of the sea, a man catches sight of a young woman who appears to be engaged in a ritual dance. She stoops down, then straightens to her full height, casting her arm out in an arc. Drawing closer, he sees that the beach around her is littered with starfish, and she is throwing them one by one into the sea. He lightly mocks her: “There are stranded starfish as far as the eye can see, for miles up the beach. What difference can saving a few of them possibly make?” Smiling, she bends down and once more tosses a starfish out over the water, saying serenely, “It certainly makes a difference to this one.”
Success is subjective and multi-dimensional.
Where one person views it in terms of an external measurement (clear the beach of all starfish!), the dancer in our story might have an entirely different definition:
Have a positive impact on one living being, each day
Experience peace and tranquility
Choose to act in the face of adversity
Find as many opportunities as I can to dance
How many starfish might have been lost if she only viewed success as being able to clear the entire beach? And what fulfilling and life-affirming opportunity might she have denied herself?
The dancer inspires me to think about success as a multi-dimensional place to come from, not an external future state to work towards.
If the story inspires you too, I invite you to think about what success uniquely looks like for you:
How would you like to show up each day, for yourself, friends, family, colleagues, and community?
What sorts of things would you like to be able to say about who you are and the impact you have?
What’s most important for you to see, feel, know, and experience in your life?
Your answers are noble and worthy. This is your place to come from. And don’t forget to celebrate when you do. 👏
If you’re up for a challenge: start your day tomorrow as if you are already in this place. How might this inform how you show up and act? What shifts?
📚 Today’s Read
How to Master the Art of Continuous Improvement
“Continuous improvement is a dedication to making small changes and improvements every day, with the expectation that those small improvements will add up to something significant.” Read the full article for a counter-intuitive approach to setting and achieving your goals.
See you next week!
xo,
Anne