Our success planning mentor, Alfred Armand Montapert, reminds us that we have a solemn obligation to make the most of ourselves. He reminds us that most of us are capable of far more success and fulfillment in life than we are actually experiencing. We’ve all been given the same amount of time. It’s how we use it that will set us apart from the mundane. And, as we know from our glamour mentor Virginia Postrel, a glamorous life is one that is devoid of mediocrity. Although Mr. Montapert isn’t discussing glamour per se, I think his wisdom translates very well to our Glamorous Lifestyle Project.
The cornerstone of achieving success is the refusal to be mediocre. We are the Glam Pack! Mundane is not in our vocabulary! The starting point of our success is to desire a glamorous life. But desire isn’t enough. We have to plan how we will create glamour in our lives and then work hard to get it (while making it seem easy to onlookers). Every day we have to look inside ourselves to make sure we aren’t slipping into mediocrity.
All of our glamorous success is acquired through habit. If we don’t deliberately form glamorous habits, then we will unconsciously form mediocre ones. The truth is that we get to choose our own patterns of thought that lead to our habits and whatever habits we form will determine our future. Success is not an accident. We have to be diligent in making sure we are developing glamorous habits.
There will be times when our determination to be glamorous will be sorely tested. But those difficult times give us a chance to demonstrate and build our graciousness and elegance “muscles” so that they become second nature to us all of the time.
Mr. Montapert finishes this passage by asking us if we’ve found ourselves or are our lives a daily grind without a definite goal? Are our lives feeling purposeless, monotonous, and discouraging? If so, then it is time to find the will power and ambition, now, to create the kind of lives we want to live. “All of the instruction there is, plus all of the wisdom and experience, means nothing unless you will use it.”
What mediocre habits do you have that need to be replaced by habits that will lead to the level of glamour you want in your life?
