The Story Of Success (ft. Cara Delevingne and King Solomon)

I've always seen Cara Delevingne as this eccentric, happy, iconic model who, by the age of 22, has already had more success than others could imagine.

However, in her recent interview with The Saturday Times Magazine she explains why it wasn't all as it seemed.

Cara suffered with a skin condition called psoriasis that was triggered by stress. Psoriasis causes red, flaky, crusty patches of skin covered with silvery scales. For her modelling jobs this would have to be covered with thick make-up and she said: 'People would put on gloves and not want to touch me because they thought it was, like, leprosy or something.' Cara said she felt ‘hollow’ and so stressed that at times she even hated her body.

Reading this really took me by surprise. How could one of the world’s top models hate her body? The way she would walk down the catwalk with so much confidence, and pose playfully in campaigns for Burberry, DKNY, Chanel and Topshop made us all believe she was living out her dreams and loving every minute of it.

It made me realise that everyone is on their own journey, no matter how successful they may seem. 

In the worlds eyes being the face of hundreds of campaigns and being an icon in the modelling industry should have been success, but for Cara it was depression. She also shared that she looks back at old shoots and feels disgusted at the nature of what she was asked to do. She told the Saturday Times magazine: 'It's horrible and it's disgusting. [We're talking about] young girls. You start when you are really young and you do, you get subjected to…not great stuff’.

What is success to you?

It’s so easy to get caught up in the world’s values and expectations for your life that you forget what really makes you tick. Success doesn't have to be loads of money and recognition. Maybe success to you is being a good friend, working hard at everything you do regardless of the reward, or just helping someone out with something that can really impact their life for the better.

If you’re a girl and you absolutely love football and would love to play for a professional women’s team but you’re worried you won’t make enough money, so what? Go for it! I know it’s cheesy, but money really can’t buy you happiness. I'm sure if you asked Cara Delevingne what she would want more out of the two, she would say happiness now that she really understands that money doesn't bring fulfilment.

I love the account in the bible of King Solomon. He was the wisest man that has ever lived (1 Kings 3:12) but God also made him very wealthy and successful (1 Kings 3:13). He had tasted all of the earthly enjoyments, and then wrote a book (Proverbs) to show us that all of it is worth nothing in comparison to knowing God. He recommends putting God above everything which will do so much more to make us happy than any wealth or power.

Whenever I find myself focusing on money or my own success too much I think of King Solomon. If he was the wisest person ever, I should probably take his advice.

It doesn't mean you shouldn't go hard for the things that you are passionate about and want to succeed in, because God loves a hard worker. But check yourself along the way that you aren't loosing sight of what is really important. 

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33 (NLT).

Emma

xx