One of my weekend pleasures is going to the local farmer’s market on Saturday mornings with my friends. The tastes, scents, and colors are inspiring. The company and conversations are wonderful. On a recent visit, I took photos of vibrantly colored vegetables and shared them on Facebook. One of my friends commented on the string beans photo and said, “I would like to see these organized, please…right now, it’s all over the place. It makes me very uneasy.” He was joking around with me, but it started me thinking beyond the beans.

What do we need in a given day to help us feel successful? How does the organizing piece fit into that? How much chaos can we tolerate, especially when emergencies strike? Each of us will answer these questions differently.

When the unexpected happens, having some systems in place can help us navigate the surprises. Recently, I was driving home from a meeting when I heard a loud noise. It felt like I’d hit something, although I didn’t see anything in the road. Everything seemed fine, so I continued on my mission and headed to a nearby Starbucks for an iced tea. When I got out of my car, a man approached me to explain that I’d run over something that looked like screwdriver. It punctured my tire, which made it completely flat. Not fun.

Despite this unexpected and annoying snag, I decided to get my iced tea. I sat, breathed, collected my thoughts, and devised an action plan. I took out my iPhone, which had all my contacts and essential information stored. First, I called Mavis Tire, where I had purchased the tires, to see if they could fix the puncture and possibly tow me to their shop. They said they could fix it but could not get me there. Then I called AAA to come tow me to Mavis. Next, I called my husband to let him know what was happening. The tow truck arrived by the time I’d finished my iced tea. Mavis was able to patch the hole, which cost me nothing since my tires were insured. In less than two hours, everything was fixed, and I was home.

5 Success Tips for “Surprises”

1. Breathe – Panicking doesn’t help. Give yourself a moment to breathe, collect your thoughts, consider your options, and make a plan.

2. Care Take – Emergency situations use up additional energy. Take care of yourself to be better equipped to handle the challenges. This can be as simple as sitting, talking with a loved one, or slowly enjoying a beverage or healthy snack.

3. Reach Out – When surprises strike, we often need to enlist help from others. Help can come from professionals, family, friends, or even strangers.

4. Prep – We never know when an emergency will happen or what we might need. Having contact information organized in an easily accessible manner can make all the difference between feeling stressed or calm.

5. Appreciate – We often take for granted when life runs smoothly. Especially when the unexpected occurs, it allows us another opportunity to express gratitude and appreciation for what we normally don’t stop to think about.

We’ve all experienced emergencies. What success strategies work for you? Come join the conversation and add to the list.

Last fall, I came across an article in the New York Times by Paul Tough called, What if the secret to success is failure? It was about rethinking how students should be taught and evaluated. Especially as a parent, I find this idea of allowing space for our children to fail along the journey as essential. It's challenging for many of us to do because we don't want to see our children suffer or struggle. However, if we can step back, encourage, and let our kids figure life out with some guidance and minimal hovering, amazing growth will occur.

This was an unusual week for us. We watched as both of our daughters’ successfully navigated major transitions. We were there to provide emotional and minimal hands-on support, but they orchestrated all of the decisions, even when they weren’t 100% sure.

Our youngest daughter negotiated her first apartment lease for her and three roommates, organized (including her shoe organizing solution for her bedroom without a closet) and packed all her belongings, moved in, and set-up her new digs a few days before starting her fall semester of college.

Our oldest daughter, a recent college graduate, networked, explored many next step options from teaching English in South Korea to working on a farm in Oregon, was offered a job in her field (textiles) in New York, organized and packed her apartment, rented a truck, and moved back to New York all within three days.

We raised our kids to be independent and encouraged them to try even when they weren't sure. We invited them to make the best decisions possible based on the information and knowledge they had at that time. We also let them know that if the outcome wasn’t as they hoped, they could make changes. We always looked at failures, both theirs and ours, as learning opportunities.

We have all experienced our share of disappointments, failures, and mishaps. Whatever you call them, they are unavoidable. They are in fact, necessary. Our failures tell us as much about what we don’t want as they reveal about what we do want. If we allow them, our failures teach us how to tweak, to explore, and to be less fearful of making mistakes. We can then experience the joy of success.

The next time you feel the need to rescue someone, take a deep breath, and give them room to explore and fail their way to success. What are your thoughts? How have your failures influenced your success?

When I captured the image of these luscious, lively eggplants at a local farmer’s market, excitement rushed through my body. Their deep violet hue drew me close. In thinking about the pursuit of success, a similar feeling of vibrancy exists when we take action towards our goals.

Last week I attended the annual ICD conference with organizing colleagues and related professionals. We went to learn and connect. The focus of the conference was how we think, act and feel about possessions. As an organizer, these ideas are at the core of the work we do with our clients. There were many presenters including psychologist, Dr. April Lane Benson, Ph.D. who spoke about overshopping, artist Corinne May Botz who shared her work on the Secret Lives of Objects and counselor Carol Berns, Psy. D. who talked about grief and bereavement.

The learning was stimulating, but so was having the chance to meet face to face with my colleagues. Taking time to reflect, converse, and learn separately from my daily routine allows me to grow personally and professionally.

We are very much like the eggplants that were planted from seed and cared for. When we take ourselves away from our normal schedules to travel, meet new people and exchange ideas our beings get nurtured. It is essential to our success.

Allow yourself to step into new environments, be open to learning and slow down enough to appreciate what surrounds you. There is a good chance you will experience that surge of energy that comes from stepping outside of your “normal.” Let vibrancy shine as you move towards the success you seek.

Please join the conversation. What gives you energy and makes you feel vibrant?

Photo by Linda SamuelsI love collecting quotes. They inspire, delight, and connect our experiences with others. Since I’m writing this month about organizing success secrets, I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes about success with you.

1. Action- A lot of thinking, planning, and dreaming goes into the success we desire. Contemplating is not enough. Forward motion with actual steps is essential. We may wish to have less clutter in our lives, but without sorting that pile of clothes on the bedroom floor or stack of papers on the desk, the wish remains just that.

“Action is the foundational key to all success.”

 - Pablo Picasso

2. Attitude- Our self-talk and determination directly influence our success. Are you saying encouraging thoughts or is negativity and doubt getting in your way? Do you tell yourself that you’ve never been able to organize, so nothing will ever change? Or are you telling yourself that while you’ve been challenged in the past, you are working on moving forward with a different result?

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.”

- Abraham Lincoln

3. Trust- We often become paralyzed by inaction because we’re waiting for all the i’s to be dotted and the t’s to be crossed. Sometimes we have to just trust that if we move forward towards our goals, despite the less than perfect conditions, we will be successful. Perhaps you’re waiting for days of uninterrupted time to start that organizing project. Learn to master the minutes and work in smaller increments. Work with what you do have to accomplish something.

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”

- Mark Victor Hansen

4. Perseverance- Instant success rarely exists. In this time where so many of us expect instant everything, remember that there will be mishaps and disappointments on the way to success. Do not give up. Use the difficulties for strength and learning. Especially if you’re organizationally challenged, setting up systems and creating the right balance will not be a straight trajectory. Expect the ups and downs along the way.

“Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.”

- Dale Carnegie

5. Growth- We have the ability to learn, strive and grow. Hopefully we’re never really done. There will always be new paths to explore and ideas to incorporate. Be grateful for the journey.

“The road to success is always under construction.”

- Lily Tomlin

Do you have any favorite quotes about success? Please share them along with your thoughts about success.