Identifying Success

Identifying Success (by my good friend Robb Armstrong, an amazing artist and creator of the comic strip Jump Street)

Prosperity is often mistaken for success.

The resemblance is so strong, the two of them are practically twins. But look a little closer. Success is older and wiser. Success has wrinkles around the eyes that weep for the struggles of others. Success has a bloodline that runs through the greatest achievements of mankind. Success is a descendant of Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Edison. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Frederick Douglass, Leonardo DaVinci and Ghandi. Success can easily trace its roots back to Moses and Jesus Christ. Success, as you can see from his celebrated lineage, isn’t always rich. Prosperity is rolling in it. Success wants company. Prosperity is alone in a crowded room.

It is difficult to meet with Success. You have to get past a bodyguard known as Abject Failure.

Failure doesn’t just stand in your way. He is willing to be your constant companion for weeks, months, or years. His stamina is formidable as he will stay with you unto death, if necessary. Anything to sift out the dishonest and the weak of character. Failure feasts on quitters. Failure has no remorse, and is not sorry if you never meet with Success. Failure knows only one true thing: Success is a greater burden to bear than failure. When you are a failure, nobody is counting on you. When you are a success, the whole world is counting on you. Everyone can understand a person who fails. One who succeeds, however, is always misunderstood. Sometimes even assassinated or crucified.