What is Success
I want to write about something that comes up often when I talk with people about my near-death experience, and that is success; what it is and does it matter.
In our society and culture, we are raised to believe that success is determined by material things like money, the size of our house, the amount we saved for retirement, what kind of car we drive, the kind of job we have, and status among others. We believe that happiness comes from the attainment and accumulation of “things,” but it’s just not true. I have learned that nothing outside of us will ever bring lasting happiness. A new house or car or job may bring a feeling of happiness for a few months, but once the newness wears off, we are faced with the reality that things don’t make us happy.
During my NDE I realized that the Other Side, or Heaven, doesn’t care about material things. They aren’t important and are considered irrelevant. The values on Earth are the polar opposite of the values on the Other Side. Here on Earth, we think our value is based on what we have, but on the Other Side, our value is based on who we became in our lifetime, what we learned, and who we helped. Can you imagine finishing your life and going to Heaven and seeing God? Can you imagine him asking how much you had in your 401k or what was the square footage of your house? Our culture is rampant with materialism, and we are praised for our accomplishments, and we believe our success in life is based on how much “stuff” we get.
I have spent a lot of time studying Jesus’ life and what he would have been taught and believed as a first century Jew. He was raised in a very modest household and wasn’t wealthy by any standard. When he began his ministry at age 30, he didn’t teach that money led to happiness, he actually said the exact opposite: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24). Jesus didn’t care what people had or what kind of work they did. He never judged anyone and he accepted everyone regardless of their position or status.
I used to volunteer for a hospice here in Colorado and I had the opportunity to visit and talk with patients who were facing their last days on Earth. None of them ever told me they wished they had made more money and had more stuff. They just wanted to be with their friends and family and enjoy their company for the remaining time they had left.
I think as a society we would be happier if we focused on the difference we can make in people’s lives rather than what we can get in life. One of my favorite authors is Wayne Dyer and he wrote something I’ve never forgotten, “There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way.”
