Achieving life’s success is about serving. It is about taking the focus off you and your self-interest and serving others in some way. When you get yourself out of the picture completely, the forces of the universe will seem to conspire to provide all and more than you previously sought for yourself.

Luke 6:38 Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Life is a continual battle. To the ordinary person it is generally a fight with circumstances and the ordinary difficulties of life which are very important in his eyes. The more advanced soul is not troubled much by these things---he rises above them—but he is tempted and tried to a much greater degree, and in a far more subtle manner. This is because life is not for mere passing pleasure, but is for the building up of character, through experience. Therefore, one who would achieve life’s success must be strong, and wise and patient. Those who aspire to make their lives really worth while: who desire to serve their fellows more perfectly: who want to build up character through experience and overcome their weaknesses, inherited or otherwise, must look for power and wisdom. As you find your power and wisdom you will find yourself thinking less and less of your own self-interest and more and more about how you can be of service to others, and make this world a better place for all humanity.

Proverbs: 3:13-15 13Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, 14for wisdom is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. 15She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.

It must be pointed out; however, that man must not use his spiritual powers for selfish purposes and self-aggrandizement. If he is to achieve life’s success he must put service before self, and give instead of grasping. If man’s ambition is to serve and give, instead of to grasp and to grab: if, also, he seeks success through merit and not through misuse of his spiritual powers, he can go forward and the Power will go with him and will help him. When once the Power has been aroused, man must cease all purely selfish striving, although, of course, there will still be much selfishness in his motive. He must seek his life’s success through service and through following noble aims: through merit and a fair exchange, instead of trying to wring success from life, no matter who may suffer thereby.

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Further, when this Power has been brought into expression it must only be used in love, for if it is used otherwise it will destroy the user. An endeavor must be made to find what the Will of the Whole is, and to work in harmony with it.

Behind each life is the Divine Will and Purpose. Each life is perfect as it is imaged in the Universal Mind. The highest success, indeed, the only true success, is to live the life according to the great Cosmic Purpose, or, in other words, as it is imaged in the One Mind.

Do not imagine, however, that it is the Will of the Universal Mind that man should be a failure or lacking in achievement. Far from it, for we have only to contemplate the Universe to see that the Infinite Mind is for ever achieving and that it never fails. Man, too, must succeed, but let him mix wisdom with his ambition, and work for the benefit of the Whole, rather than for any purely selfish purpose.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 17Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

It is necessary that we should always be progressing, achieving, overcoming and endeavoring to succeed. One of the greatest laws of the Universe is progress; therefore it is fatal to stand still. We must go forward, we must achieve, and we must accomplish things. If we do so, we may find that many things which cost us much effort and hard work are not worth the having, yet all the time we are learning, through experience, and are being strengthened and prepared for greater things. Through repeated failure to find true satisfaction we arrive finally at true knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. We are wise then, if, with the world at our feet, we turn our attention and focus on achieving life’s success through service.