The Altar of Success
Tuesday, December 7th, 2010
Success is a great word. It inspires people. Being successful feels great! Interestingly enough, success means something different to each person. It his highly personal. To one, success may mean losing 20 pounds, to another it may mean gaining 20 pounds. One person may desire a place to live, while another desires to own a mansion. But in every case success is specific to their wants, because success is simply getting what you desire. And since everyone has desires then to some extent everyone has a concept of what success looks like for them. Strange thing is, if everyone wants success according to their own desires, then in an environment where success is possible, why do so few achieve it. There are many reasons for that and I will be exploring them in my book, to be released in 2011, but here is one reason that eludes people often.
I was having dinner in a wonderful family owed restaurant in Miami recently when one of the cooks
quietly asked me if I was Jewish because of my dietary preferences and since the establishment was Jewish owned. I shared with him my affinity for the best of all religions, including Judaism, but fell short of saying that I was Jewish. He then shared with me that his religion, which originated in Africa and was practiced in the Carribean, included sacrificing animals as a ritual. Some in my party winced at the thought, we were eating (lol), but I calmy replied “Yeah I understand”. Now before you react, I am not into that sort of thing. Nor do I support sacrificing animals. But her is what I meant by saying I understand.
Primitive or early cultures often had rituals which included making sacrifices at the altar to the Gods. This 
was an offering often for a good harvest (strong economy), or for protection from impending danger, or whatever they wanted, but the point is, whenever the people wanted something they knew they had to make a sacrifice. There was no free ride!
was an offering often for a good harvest (strong economy), or for protection from impending danger, or whatever they wanted, but the point is, whenever the people wanted something they knew they had to make a sacrifice. There was no free ride!And that is what I understood. If you want your desires fulfilled, it will not come SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU WANT IT BADLY OR THINK OF IT IN YOUR MIND. You have to to be willing to do what it takes to succeed and in that effort you will inadvertantly sacrifice some things.
There is no free ride. This universe requires payment. It is balance. You will not receive without giving first. You plant seeds, care for them, then after a while you get the fruits of your labor. Thats it. It is folly to think you simply ask for it and it comes. There is no evidence for that. If it were so, we would all have all that we desire right now.
So the next time you wonder about your success, at whatever you desire, ask yourself, “Have I made the sacrifices, and paid the price yet?” Because your success demands it. 
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