Twentieth century American writer Robert Frost uses “journey” as a metaphor about life. Two of his poems have stuck in my head since High School – “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening.” In many ways and at different times in my life these poems have inspired my life’s journey. As pertaining to my quest for success, the last stanza of “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” reminds me that the road to success is not quick. It is long and sometimes arduous:
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
While there are many attractions in life, lots of mysteries to explore and ideas to unearth, at this stage of my life, I am most interested in the specific avenues through which God guides to achieve God’s will for me. I have miles to go before I achieve the kind of success that I believe that God has for me.
To borrow Paul\’s words in Philippians 3:13-14, “I do not consider that I have made it myself. But…straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Paul is speaking about eternal success more so than mere earthly accomplishments. By eternal, he is explaining the qualities that are essential to life both now and the life that is to come rather than temporal matters for earthy advantages, alone. I believe, moreover, that Paul’s principles of pursuit of the higher calling are fitting for both finite and infinite accomplishments.
In this book on success, I draw mainly from selected Scriptures, teachings from childhood, testimonies, valuable lessons in my journey, and African American folklore. While this book is not an exhaustive treatment on the subject, I believe that these few nuggets from meaningful sources of support and from my own journey will inspire you.
