How do you spell "success"?
You know when you've reached a
goal you've set (and you have set a goal, haven't you?).
But achieving one goal, or even
three, doesn't equal "success," does it?
How about ten goals? A hundred?
What
about if you achieved every goal you set?
Would that make you successful? Or just really good at setting achievable goals? (Or really, really lucky…. can I rub your
head, please?)
Some days I feel REALLY
successful. Like when I see my jewelry on a new pageant winner, or when I get a
marvelous "thank you" email or Facebook wall posting. Or when I have a really
good week.
There are also days when I feel, well, not so successful. Usually days
connected with getting together information for my accountant, or when something
doesn't go completely as planned, or when I get a bad case of the "what-if's" or
the "someday-when's," or especially, the "wish-I'd-have-done's." THOSE are the
worst!
So that got me wondering, how
do we define success as jewelry makers?
Is it a bank balance? Boy, that seems awfully
dicey these days, but it is the thermometer we've always been taught to use, and
the easiest one to measure. Is it our happiness quotient? Finances can be a roller
coaster ride. Pass the Dramamine. please.
The ability to hire employees? If
that's the case, I used to be wildly successful, and now am a complete failure,
but by my happiness quotient (and perhaps even my bank balance), it's the other
way around, so nah, that's not it.
I had a young lady email me last
year, asking if I'd mentor her in the jewelry business. She asked me all kinds
of questions, some good, most somewhat shallow, but mostly what you'd expect
from someone young and just starting out -- you know, draw me a map to success.
I
think I upset her because the first thing I did was ask her what
success meant to her. When she had trouble answering that question, I asked her
how she wanted to spend her days. "Draw me a picture of your ideal day," I asked
her.
She couldn't.
That may be a small key to what
success is, at least for me.
But what else is it? Fulfilling a vision, moving
forward, not taking the same step twice, being famous/well-known/respected,
making money/being comfortable/quitting your day job/supporting your family,
calling your own shots… what IS success?
I want to know. How do YOU spell
success?
Stefanie Somers
