How has your definition of success changed over time?
The goalpost moved. Did you move with it?
For years it was whatever I could show my relatives. Now it's what I can live with when the house is quiet and it's just me and my own opinion of how I spent the day.
For years it was whatever I could show my relatives. Now it's what I can live with when the house is quiet and it's just me and my own opinion of how I spent the day.
I used to think success was a place you arrived at and could finally rest. Now I know it's just a direction — am I becoming more myself, or less? Everything else is scoreboard.
I used to think success was a place you arrived at and could finally rest. Now I know it's just a direction — am I becoming more myself, or less? Everything else is scoreboard.
It shrank, in the best way. From changing the world to being someone my friends can call at 2am. I think the second one might quietly change more of the world.
It shrank, in the best way. From changing the world to being someone my friends can call at 2am. I think the second one might quietly change more of the world.
My father defined it as security — a house, a pension, no debt. I spent my twenties rejecting that as small. My thirties taught me he was mostly right, and braver than I gave him credit for.
My father defined it as security — a house, a pension, no debt. I spent my twenties rejecting that as small. My thirties taught me he was mostly right, and braver than I gave him credit for.
Success used to mean the absence of struggle. Now I think it's having struggles worth having. Better problems, not no problems.
I measured it by comparison for twenty years — always against someone slightly ahead. The day I stopped looking sideways, I noticed I'd already passed most of the things I'd been chasing.
I measured it by comparison for twenty years — always against someone slightly ahead. The day I stopped looking sideways, I noticed I'd already passed most of the things I'd been chasing.
It used to be about being impressive. Now it's about being trusted. I'd rather three people rely on me completely than three thousand be mildly impressed.
It used to be about being impressive. Now it's about being trusted. I'd rather three people rely on me completely than three thousand be mildly impressed.
At twenty-five it was a title and a salary. At thirty-eight it's a Tuesday with nowhere I have to be, a kid who still wants to talk to me, and work I'm not ashamed of. The list got shorter and heavier.
At twenty-five it was a title and a salary. At thirty-eight it's a Tuesday with nowhere I have to be, a kid who still wants to talk to me, and work I'm not ashamed of. The list got shorter and heavier.