Marshall Ramsey

The tropical rain washed away the dust of the brutally hot summer.  The earth was being cleansed. And after a long dry spell, all the wilted plants  were coming back to life.  Grass perked up. Trees stood taller. The world was turning from brown to green.  You could almost hear nature’s sigh of relief.

He watched the pouring rain come down.  Every drop was a blessing from above. He wouldn’t complain about the rain any more.  Not after this summer. Life had its dry spells.  And life had its bounties.

This was a bounty.

His eye followed a maple leaf as if flowed down the rain-swollen gutter.  The sound of the rain hitting the leaves of the giant oak was a symphony of relief. He sat back and allowed the music flow across his spirit.  And he gave thanks.

One drop at a time.

Since the Food Pyramid now has gone the way of “Pluto is a planet (long live Planet Pluto), ” let me offer you a new pyramid to think about.

The Success Pyramid.

No, it’s not the big empty building on the Mississippi in Memphis.  Nor is it in Egypt. It’s not even a paperweight on your boss’ desk. The success pyramid is just a simple observation about the dynamics of success that I’ve made over the years. OK, let me stop right here and tell you, I am not a success guru. Nor a motivational speaker. I’ve been blessed in my life with several great things that have happened to me. But I’ve also had many failures, too. I’ve studied the failures over and over trying to learn from them. And one of the biggest roots of a failure is where I placed my faith.  The faith that motivated me.

So, here’s the Success Pyramid. And like the Food Pyramid, you want to be motivated by what’s at the top, not the bottom.

Others’ Faith in You: When I spent my time worrying about what others thought about me, it drug me down to whatever their opinion might have been. “Others” can be your family, your friends, your boss, even your spouse or people in the community.  I know personally, I’ve allowed this to really hold me back. It made me stop believing in myself. Which, of course, is the next step on the Success Pyramid.

Faith in yourself: Self esteem is great. Don’t get me wrong. I spent many years without it.  But you can’t rely on it because unless you are completely narcissistic, you will have moments of self doubt. Trust me.  I’ve been knocked down enough to know that it happens.  It’s like depending on a clock without a battery-backup.  You’re in good shape most of the time — but when an emergency comes, you’re left in the dark.

Faith in a higher power. I call Him God. You can fit in whatever your belief system is in here.  Bottom line is, believe in something bigger than yourself.  It will give you Faith. It will power you through the toughest of times.  This is fairly new concept for me and it has brought me great peace. And is starting to bring me even greater success.

So there you go. A little early morning observation before I go draw three cartoons and put on a radio show. I pray you have a great day and all the success in the world comes your way.