By Sally Bassett
What did Amelia Earhart, Susan B. Anthony, Mother Teresa, Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Keller and Madame C.J. Walker have in common? Passion and perseverance. If you have passion and perseverance about things in your own life, you will not only accomplish things you want to do, but you will also live and enjoy life to the fullest.
In third grade, I found myself bedridden for a year with rheumatic fever. I began collecting postcards that people would send me from their travels and dreamt of doing the same thing someday. I was blessed to have found a life passion at an early age that I pursued with persistence taking me to more than 130 countries.
For many years as a young professional career woman, I believed that passion and perseverance were the two keys to success. Later, as a working mother, I learned that there were three other keys to success to share.
The key to success that I still struggle to maintain is finding balance. To succeed and be happy, you need to be balanced mentally, physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually.
The fourth key to success is giving back. As you grow, you must give back and serve others. After years in the travel and airline industry, it was one of the biggest highlights to begin offering “voluntourism” trips, where passengers would explore the destination as well as spend some time making a difference in orphanages, schools and make-shift clinics. My fondest travel memories have included working with children in India, Cuba, Cambodia, Kenya, Haiti, Belize, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Serbia, South Africa, Uganda, Honduras and, most recently with kids near and dear to my heart in Costa Rica.
Last, but definitely not least, you must have faith to succeed. The type of faith where you know you are on the right track and give it up to a higher source. Faith takes you to the peaks of life and sees you through the valleys. Pray and you talk to God; meditate and you listen to Him.
These keys to success can be used as your own guide through your life as you pursue your passions, persevere, stay balanced, give back during the process, and once you are on your own path, have faith that you are exactly where you are meant to be. Until next time…
Namaste!