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Soul Success: A Higher Level of Fulfillment
by Michelle L. Casto

Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2006-present Michelle L. Casto

Everyday Enlightenment Publishing
San Antonio, Texas
USA

Smashwords Edition License Notes
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Note From the Author: This is one chapter in a compilation book where 16 Experts and Authors in the field of Personal Transformation share their wisdom what works to achieve personal success and happiness. The next best thing to being coached by these people, this book will give you hundreds of ideas you can implement right away. You can receive the entire book at my Everyday Enlightenment Store at http://www.brightlightcoach.com/life-success

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Your complimentary chapter from the compilation book: Success and Happiness by Michelle L. Casto, Ph. D.

Soul Success: A Higher Level of Life Fulfillment

You are the author of your own success story.---Michelle L. Casto

What is Soul Success?

Earl Nightingale once said, “Success in life could be defined as the continuous expansion of happiness and the progressive realization of worthy goals.” I personally like this idea because he emphasizes two key things: more happiness and the lifelong pursuit of “worthy goals.” It also reminds me that success is a lifelong journey and definitely not a destination. Reading and writing are essential to my personal success strategy that I employ every day; I discover everything I need to know by taking time to actively reflect.

The definition of life success varies from person to person, according to what goals they set for themselves. For some, having a career in a particular field, making a certain amount of money defines success. For others, having a career that enables them to make a real difference in people’s lives is what makes them feel successful. For others, it is a happy family life. For me, it has a lot to do with taking a balanced and strategic approach to achieving all that I can in all areas of my life, while enjoying the process as much as humanly possible!

In my book, worldly success does not equal fulfillment. Ego success is often measured by the thing quotient: having so much money, the right kind of car, a big house, and certain degrees. This kind of success is external and fleeting. Once you possess what you desire, you begin desiring something new, always feeling empty inside. Soul success is measured by the happiness quotient: enjoying high self-esteem, confidence, satisfaction, and a sense of purpose. This kind of success is internal and lasting. Once you learn what your inner self really wants, and create a lifestyle that reflects that, peace and joy live in your heart, abiding and enduring (even when physical things seem to be lacking).

You need to develop your own definition of success so that you will attract it into your life. You will experience what you expect. So expect success!

The “Law of Attraction” means that the universe attracts similar vibrations and frequencies to us through our thoughts and feelings, which are based on love or fear. When we send out positive vibrations, we magnetize more good things back to us. When we let fear, doubt, or guilt cloud our mental frame of mind—we are sending out a lower frequency, and attracting likewise. Success is not only based on what you do, but who you are. Success is attracted to successful people.

So How Do You Become a Success Magnet?

You manage your mental and emotional energy, keeping thoughts and feelings highly charged. That means being a person full of passion, joy, love, and gratefulness. Possessing passion for your work and your life infuses creativity into what you do. If you are doing something that is bringing you joy or passion, you are vibrating at a high rate and are open to the positive gifts that life has to offer. It has been said that Success is a state of mind combined with a state of readiness. This observation is especially true for living a successful life. You must have both a positive mental attitude combined with a solid set of beliefs about your ability to set and meet your goals.

What is soul success and how do you achieve it? Many of my coaching client’s definitions of success reflect goal achievement. Often, you can’t achieve success without goals. Goals give life meaning. However, goals will not necessarily make you happy, there is more to it than that. First of all, I help clients make the distinction between outer goals, which are externally motivated and sound a lot like “shoulds” and Soul Goals, which are internally inspired and resonate from a deep wellspring of Spirit. Soul goals bring about an internal transformation, which is ever-lasting. An example would be: to grow in spirituality. This is certainly a worthy goal and one that you will be working on many days, months, and even years.

As humans beings we are designed for achievement and accomplishment. In fact, the desire to meet a challenge and succeed has been a part of many cultures throughout history. The ancient Peruvians used to draw out their goals in symbols and paint them in primitive colors on the walls of caves. The Egyptians used to create elaborate rituals to move from one state of desire to actualization. They believed that writing out a dream in advance would assure a positive outcome.

Likewise, we moderns have an innate need to live a fulfilling and meaningful life. You need to have a vision, as it is the first step towards having the life you want. Your purpose provides intention and direction for who and what you want to be and do. To achieve success, set goals, and then focus on results. If you are not getting the results you intended, find the reason and adjust your strategy.

It’s been said that change is inevitable, growth intentional. To live out your vision and work with purpose, learn to visualize success. One way to do this is by imagining your desired outcome in your mind. With a clear image implanted, you can then move on to strategy. Planning and prioritizing bridges the gap between where you are now and where you want to be in the future. Planning is simply thinking about your day or week in a systematic way. Prioritizing is putting the many things you need to do in order of importance and urgency. A success strategy includes the who, what, where, when, and how you will achieve your dreams.

Soul Success Strategies

Like William Henley who once said, “I am the master of my fate. The captain of my soul,” I agree that Life is a Do-It Yourself project. If you want to live a certain kind of life, you are going to have to be proactive so you can consciously create life as you would like it. You must first mentally visualize and then physically create what you want. You can do this by creating an exciting vision and developing strong intentions. Your life is your gift; how you appreciate it and use it is entirely up to you. Take this story as an example of the importance of building it with excellence and pride (author unknown):

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by.

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career. When the carpenter finished his work, the employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter. “This is your house,” he said, “my gift to you.” The carpenter was shocked! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.

So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then we are shocked to realize we have to live in the house we have built! If we could do it over, we’d do it much differently. And better.

But you cannot go back. You are the carpenter. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Your attitudes and the choices you make today build the house you live in tomorrow. Build wisely! Build with commitment, pride, joy, and love.

When imagining the life you want to live and the work you want to do, it is important to pay attention to your longings---this is your soul trying to communicate with you its deepest desires. The word intuition is latin for “in to you,” and by learning to listen to your intuition, you will make wiser decisions. I believe that intuition is your spirit talking to you. If you stop to acknowledge this, you realize the incredible perspective you have. The key is to believe that your higher self sees what is best for you. Indeed, you are receiving messages all the time, but you must learn to pay attention, open to guidance, trust, and follow it. When you follow your true internal compass, you are easily steered towards your highest potential. And when you learn to trust this gift, you become empowered. When you are empowered, you know the right thing to do and when to do it. You learn to look within for answers. And that is a powerful place to come from---such that success seeks you!

Your soul loves joy and success loves joy. So when you give your soul more joy, you automatically get more success. Pretty amazing, right!

Contrary to popular belief, life is not meant to be a struggle…this is a ego drama story. Your soul relishes light, love, joy and fun. As a human being, you were divinely designed to experience ease and enjoyment. Enjoyment leads to fulfillment. You deserve to enjoy what you are doing and who you are being in life. One way to experience more enjoyment is to give yourself permission to be creative. Creativity leads to a deeper self-understanding and is also a way to share who you really are with the world. To be successful, take risks and try things that are unconventional or different. Be the person who blazes the trail for others!

Fear of success or fear of failure often prevents people from pursuing their heart’s desire. However, when you feel fear, know that it is o.k. In fact, fear is usually a sign that you are on the right track. Notice the fear, but don’t give it power, simply focus on what you want and then take action, this will dissipate the fear and you will soon forget what all the drama was about! When considering your dreams and goals, never ask yourself if you are good enough to do something. Ask yourself, “Will I enjoy it?”

Live in Balance

When thinking of your definition of life success, do not forget to include all of your life aspects. Human beings have four main dimensions of experience: the 4 L’s I like to call it: Love, Labor, Leisure, and Learning. Finding your unique balance will help you experience fulfillment in all areas.

Balance happens when you learn to integrate spirit, mind, and body. Oftentimes, in a single-minded quest for success, we lose sight of other aspects of our lives. When we work towards personal development nurturing spirit, mind and body, it provides a strong, balanced foundation that enables us to achieve our goals and maintain peace and joy in our lives.

Our Spirit guides our thoughts and these thoughts are translated into behaviors that produced desired results. It is important that the three dimensions of our core being work together. Spirit is the essence of who we are. It is our divine connection with the higher power and knows our deepest dreams and desires. It is through Spirit that we obtain our life vision and purpose.

Our Mind is the artist (or author) of our lives creating from the thoughts we focus on most. Thoughts radiate into the universe to find their corresponding experience. When these thoughts are negatives, so will be our actions. If our thoughts are positive, so will be our actions. Any behavior or action was first a thought.

Also, it is through our Bodies we communicate with our Spirit, whether it is through a chill down our spine, a tingly sensation in our gut, or a warm feeling all over. Your body is the vehicle for your spirit, the being you are. Paying attention to your body and how it feels is crucial to communicating with your Spirit and understanding the information that is being relayed.

In addition to being in balance, there are various elements that interplay to create this experience called “life.”

Life Success Elements

Your life is a big, beautiful blooming flower with numerous specially decorated petals making up your unique experience:

Your lessons are your personal learning and growth opportunities.

Your values provide direction and guidance for important life decisions.

Your vision is your overall blueprint for the kind of life you want to lead.

Your purpose is who you want to be and what you want to share with others when you are at your absolute best.

Your passions are the things you love.

Your life’s work are the on-going personal and professional projects that you complete.

Your goals are mini-steps that help support your work, purpose, and vision.

Your roles are the parts you play along your journey.

Your soul mates are those who come into your life to love, lead, or teach you.

Your supports are the habits and environments that bring you a sense of balance.

Your path is the way you choose to create your life by conscious choices you make during your journey.

Your soul is the architect of your destiny and wants you to live the divine life you were meant to lead.

When you take the time to define success on your soul’s terms and in your own words, you have an advantage over 95% of the population. With a clearly written definition, you instantly recognize what you really want, and can then develop a strategy that works in harmony with all aspects of your life, resulting in lasting fulfillment. If you need help defining success or developing a strategy, a professional Coach can get you headed in the right direction. In fact, most of the successful people I know have at least one coach they are working with at any one time.

To begin, write down the answers to these questions in your journal:

What do I love to do?

What is the vision I have for my life?

What is my unique purpose?

What does my soul long to express?

What does success look and feel like to me?

When I am being successful, I am……

There is power in writing your dreams down on paper. So while you have pen in hand, continue scripting out your ideal life in detail, the more sensory rich, the better.

How will you craft your life story?

You can choose to play the role of hero or heroine, slay your dragons, overcome challenges, explore faraway lands, fall in true love, attract prosperity, enjoy great health, and reach as many goals as you want. You decide how high you go in your career, how deep your relationships are in your life, and how much fun you have while on the journey. As the author of your own book of life, only you have the power to rewrite the current chapter or ending so that your soul experiences success.

**As a reader of this chapter, you are now entitled to a free gift, to claim your Destiny Success Kit, go straight away to http://www.brightlightcoach.com
And for more of my Smashwords books, visit our page: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/destinybooks

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Remember to shine your bright light because the world needs your light! MC

The only person who is spiritually smart is the one who has learned how to learn, unlearn, and change directions instantly, and start all over again,
if your soul calls for it. ----Michelle L. Casto

Michelle L. Casto

Michelle L. Casto is known as The Soul Diva. Diva in Sanskrit means “shining, light of God.” Michelle knows there is a divine spark within every human being that longs to be fully ignited and expressed. She works with people who are unsure about the next best step to take in life and helps them by building a bridge to their inner self and then uses that connection to tap into the wisdom of their own souls. With these foundations in place, she coaches them through all of life’s changes and decisions. Through a revolutionary process called soul excavation, she teaches the 6 Life Mastery Lessons. (Shine, Integrate, Dance, Communicate, Seek, Decide).

Michelle has written 16 books and ebooks on self-empowerment topics ranging from romantic relationships, career development, discovering your life purpose, bringing more balance to your life, success strategies, life transformation, manifesting, and writing with the divine. Her inspirational articles can be read on hundreds of internet websites.

Michelle holds a Ph.D. in Coaching from Universal University where her dissertation topic was the Science of Success. She also has a M.Ed. degree from the University of South Carolina and a Bachelor of Science degree from Ohio University. Michelle is dedicated to sharing what she learns with others so they can experience “everyday enlightenment.” In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, spending time at the beach with her two dogs, and reading on the topics of spiritual development, the science of success, and human potential.

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