For years I prayed for a successful home business so that Jim could work from home and we could raise and homeschool the children together.  I thought it would make me happy. And do you know what happened?  

We now have a successful home business.  And Jim works from home.  And we raise and homeschool the children together.  And I am happy.

But here’s the secret…

I was happy before I had a successful home business.

Have you ever said or thought, “Once I (fill in the blank), then I’ll be happy”?

The blank can be any of the following or something else completely:

• get out of debt
• get married
• have children
• make a certain amount of money 
• buy a new house
• get a new car

If you define success as meeting any specific criteria, then achieving that success should bring happiness, right?

Wrong.

The truth of the matter is that becoming successful only leads to more things that need to be fixed or goals that need to be attained.  If you’re wanting to get out of debt, once you achieve that, then you need to start building your savings and preparing for retirement and donating more and paying for college.

If you’re wanting to get married, once you achieve that, then you have all the relationship challenges to keeping your marriage strong.

If you’re wanting to buy a new house, once you achieve that, then you have to furnish that house and maintain that house and landscape that house.

For me, I wanted to have a successful home business.  Now I have to build an entire new facility, relocate my family, find employees, and balance work and family.

No goal is an end in itself.  It always leads to wanting more, so you need to find happiness where you are now.  Because success won’t make you happy if you’re not already happy.  At no point in life will everything be perfect.  You have to find your happiness in the here and now and in the good things that you do have – not in the things that you want to have.

So keep hoping, praying, dreaming, and working.  Hopefully, your dreams will come true and success will be yours.  But find your happiness in the journey, not in the destination.  

Success will make you happy, but only temporarily.