Zig Ziglar is one of my favorite motivational speakers, and I've found his writings to be very grounded and down to earth. I was reading through one of his works the other day and ran across this fascinating quote:

“Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be."

Everyone has their own definition of what "success" means to them. For some people, it's having enough money to do whatever they want, whenever they want. For others, it's about reaching some goal they have established.

According to Zig Ziglar, it's not the "getting" or the "triumph" that matter, or that make us successful. If we were to simply snap our fingers and magically attain that goal or that financial success we've dreamed of, that wouldn't make us successful at all. It's only through the "doing" and the "trying" that we actually succeed.

Not everyone has the same capacities or capabilities. We're all skilled in SOME area, but rarely in the same area. Where one writer is skilled at weaving a fascinating tale, another writer has a wonderful way with words. Where one artist can paint amazing portraits, another can use pencils and inks to do mind-blowing things.

In the end, it's all about using YOUR capabilities and skills to "reach for the highest that is in us". We may never be as good as the next guy, but that doesn't matter. Our goal isn't to reach someone else's standard of excellence, but to be "all that WE can be". If we can "try" and "do", the success that we finally reach in the end will be OUR success. We will be the best versions of ourselves, and that will be what matters most in the long run!