At God’s footstool, to confess,
A poor soul knelt and bowed his head.
“I failed,” he cried. The master said,
“Thou didst thy best. That is success.”

And I have to say, I was rather moved.

“Thou didst thy best. That is success.”

All too often, we look around and compare ourselves against what we see. We rate our achievements against those of other people, when the true test of accomplishment is against our personal best, not someone else’s.

In the past, I have not done my best. Worse – I have not even tried to do my best. I have coasted along, doing just enough to get by. Just enough to pay the bills. Just enough to get through school. I feel I have wasted those years. I have whittled away at time, till all that was left is the shavings of my life scattered on the floor.

No more.

It changes. Now. Today. Right this second.

No matter how poor at something I turn out to be, I want to be able to look at my progress and say “I did my best. That is success.” That is the promise to myself.

See you on the far side of better.