In their article “Stringed Victory,” Richard Jerome and Elizabeth McNeil told the story of Joshua Bell, a child prodigy on the violin who was a world-class musician by the young age of 29. Joshua always endeavored to be his best—at computers, chess, even video games. He pushed himself to succeed. One day, while visiting his hometown of Bloomington, Indiana, a small boy approached him. “You’re Joshua Bell,” he exclaimed. “You’re famous!” Joshua humbly responded, “Well … not really.” But the boy was insistent. “Yes, really … your name is on every video game in the arcade as the highest scorer!”

Different people define success in different ways. To create your Life Palette, you need a genuine definition for your success, and here’s the formula to remember:

Success =

Living daily as the masterpiece God created you to be

Without a properly developed Life Palette, you cannot know true success in life. Your passions, desires, ambitions, and goals must all be aligned with creating a Life Palette that will help, and not hinder, you in achieving the destiny God has for you.

In the Bible, the Psalmist wrote about those who “delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” (Psalm 1:2-3) This verse provides a picture of what God desires for you as His masterpiece. His plan is that your life will always produce something of worth and value. His plan is that your life is lived like a tree with leaves that always bloom and give life, never dying away. His plan is that you will prosper in everything that you do. This prosperity is not a guarantee of health, wealth, and happiness, but it is an assurance that what God has in store for you is good and fulfilling. It is like the “rich and satisfying life” that Jesus said He came to give you in John 10:10. It’s the kind of life that will give you more vigor and enthusiasm each day.

What is the condition for having this kind of prosperous life? The Psalmist makes it clear: doing everything the Lord wants, achieved by constantly keeping in mind the directives of His Word. As you do this, you’ll be freed from living your life according to what pleases others; instead, you will think, feel, and act according to what pleases God. You’ll fill your Life Palette with the exact things the master artist needs.

 (Excerpt from Chapter 1, Life Palette)