A Milestone on Squidoo

Over the past several years, we, as Squidoo lensmasters, have read and heard about many a milestone as experienced by fellow lensmasters. Milestones come in many shapes and sizes for us writers. On the platform of Squidoo, a milestone can mean an overall top lens, a lens in the Top 100, a lens of the day, creating 50 quality lenses to become a Giant Squid or creating 100 quality lenses to become a Giant Squid 100 Club status, a purple star for a quality lens, and it can even mean celebrating a memorable anniversary!

A milestone is one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road or boundary at intervals of one mile or occasionally, parts of a mile. --Thank you Wikipedia!

Within the framework of project management, a milestone is the end of a stage that marks the completion of a work package or phase, typically marked by a high level event such as completion, endorsement or signing of a deliverable, document or a high level review meeting. --Thanks again Wikipedia

Today is March 21, 2006 and it means that I, JaguarJulie, am celebrating my own personal milestone on Squidoo. Today marks my 4th anniversary as a Squidoo lensmaster. Bright and early, my first task that I wanted to accomplish was to share my special day on the SquidU Forum. Thank you Squidoo for my 4-year anniversary milestone today!

I started writing my post just before 9am and published it at 9:35am. That is of significance as there is a fellow lensmaster Rick Phillips who is also celebrating his 4-year anniversary today. And, remarkably, unplanned, he was posting on the SquidU Forum at the same time, publishing at 9:37am his post, Joined Squidoo 4 Years Ago Today - The Results.

If you want to know a bit more about what this 4-year anniversary milestone means to me, catch my SquidU Forum post.  I've shared my personal mantra that has been my driver for more than a decade online, "Be the best that YOU can be! Be authentic, original and unique."  And along those lines, "Reach for the stars!  Sparkle and shine."  You know it is important to be authentic and yourself!  "Don't be a CopyCat."  Ah, yes!  "Be the best that YOU can be!"

Do you want to know what my favorite gadgets are? Here are a few that I own and love! Yep, they are a little older like me! While I would love to have the latest and greatest, sometimes you need to celebrate what you have and make the most of it. For me, I am making the most of it with my Amazon Kindle, Apple iPod nano, and FujiFilm FinePix V10!

And, I am still making the best and most of it over on Squidoo as JaguarJulie, a lensmaster "since March 21 2006, who has rated 7,147 lenses, favorited 537, and has created 637 lenses from scratch. This member's top-ranked page is Stuffed Cabbage. 1,775 people are fans."  Thank you Squidoo hugely for the 4-year anniversary milestone today!  You rock seriously.

A Moment For a Little Reflection on Meaning

"The purpose of life is not to win. The purpose of life is to grow and to share. When you come to look back on all that you have done in life, you will get more satisfaction from the pleasure you have brought to other people's lives than you will from the times that you outdid and defeated them." --Rabbi Harold Kushner

For me it is meaningful that I know I have done the very best that I can do each and every day. I do not hold myself up to be competitive with others. Too often, I see people losing sight of themselves in all the so-called "back-stabbing" competition to get ahead ... to grab that so-called prize that they think the other person has. In the arena of competition for a spot on some sort of leaderboard, people can and do become unfriendly, unkind and sometimes back-stabbing. What for I ask? Do you think that being on the top of that list is going to make you HAPPIER? Or, do you think it is going to make you rich?

Who was it that said, "For someone to win; someone has to lose." ???

What is it that you are really seeking? Are you seeking some type of meaning or recognition? It may sound trite and cliche to say this, but we need to look inside ourselves for meaning. Take a moment to reflect ... heck, it is the new year and a time for reflection after all.

Speaking from experience, I can say that I might have hit the upper ranks of some leaderboards in the past, but what has it accomplished? Trust me, there has been plenty of heartbreak with those leaderboards ... losing friends [who probably weren't friends to begin with], being misquoted, having words put in my mouth, having words taken out of context, having people copy ideas to set forth as their own, and so on. It is no picnic! I personally come down on the side to get rid of those leaderboards! Spotlight multiple people so as not to single out someone who can in a high school mentality [or even junior high sometimes] become a target for negativity!

So, why not take a moment from all that hubbub that you've put yourself into and take time for a little reflection on meaning. Hey, let's add some meaning to our lives before it is too late. Oh, and I've found a couple of books that I might recommend to you. Peace!