Jul 6, 2009

Define Success.


Really. Think about it and write it down. What do you define as success? What makes you Top of the Class? This is very interesting, since on Saturday I had the most interesting and frustrating call known to man.

Here I am minding my own business (pun intended), doing some light shopping and I get a call from someone I used to know. I write "used" because the body that carried the man I knew; the brain, muscles, heart, joints, etc... it's still there. His body has not changed. But the man inside? Gone. I am sad, really sad, but so be it. It was all because of this definition which I beg of you guys to tell me.

Maybe I need to redefine success so I can make sure I am not going crazy. So I'm going to write down my opinion on this word and you tell me if I'm dead wrong... or like I was told on Saturday, doing everything wrong. Let's begin, shall we?

Ok so success for me is this: I don't have millions of dollars. I am not rich, wealthy or any other definition of having dough. I have enough money to enjoy from time to time nice things. Like everybody else I save up and splurge only if I can. I have a small business which does advertising and other related things and I am not focusing on making it a huge advertising agency. In fact, I am doing this just to pay the bills and save up some more money until I can move to greener pastures and do something completely different.

Because I have my own shop, I only get to have short vacations. Although I would love to disappear to the Maldives for two weeks, I know I can't right now. But I get the pleasure of traveling a shitload of more times during the year on short bursts of 3 to 4 day weekends. My shop does not make thousands of dollars every month, but I don't mind since I have just what I need to enjoy life.

I get to escape my job from time to time to go to the movies with some great cats. I can run off to do my nails and come back without any boss telling me shit. My clients can call me anytime they want during the weekend and I won't mind at all. I am not looking for getting more clients or crushing people because I want to move forward, in fact, I am the one that usually tries to help out other friends either with freelance jobs or working on a project together so we can all make a buck or two.

The one thing that I know for sure is this: I am not looking to get recognized, win Clios, buy a yacht or a house in the Caribbean, I am not looking to be profiled in AdAge. I just want my business to do well, to make enough money so that I don't go hungry and from time to time I get to experience the world.

I don't need Filet Mignon. I don't want champagne wishes nor caviar dreams. I don't need a Porsche nor a five bedroom mansion. I just want to be happy, have a family (um, I am officially starting the baby hunt but that is another post, coming soon) and enjoy every minute that I have left on this planet.

This is success for me. So... Am I wrong? Am I nuts?

You know why I am asking? Because someone had the balls to tell me this weekend that I was running my business wrong and that I needed to change my views so that I could become a powerhouse. I needed to take "bigger" projects and refuse "small ones" because those are not worth time. In this economy, this human being told me to REFUSE deals and take only the ones which would make more money. Um...

I needed to sell my shop as an agency and not what it is and what I would like it to be. I need to change my future and instead of wanting a Kmart kiddie pool for my patio, I needed to "think big" and envision more. I need more people at my office. I need to sell an image. I need to portray success.

But... but... I am already successful! I have all that I need and more! Or am I just a dumb fuck with no ambition?

Oh and by the way... can you smell the sarcasm where you are reading this?

PS: A word of advice. Never tell someone how to run their life or their business. It's just not nice, you know?

6 comments:

RestrictionsApply said...

“…I have just what I need to enjoy life…”

That pretty much sums it up, according to my book.

Me said...

Well according to someone, that is not enough. I need to have power and to make people know that I am the most powerful woman that walks the earth...

In other words: I need to tell the world I have a huge penis.

What's the bad thing about being "averagely" happy?

Teenie said...

You summed it up perfectly--you have what you need to be happy. That's success, in my books. If you go big you may well take on big headaches, something you seem to have run away from.

People who tell you how to run your life/business are usually uncomfortable about how they're running their own. Or, at the very least, they want others to join in their misery.

Lucila said...

In my humble opinion success is having a job you enjoy, some money to get by, love and health. What makes you happy is not the same formula for everybody.

Is this person genuinely happy? I am betting my ass here that this person knows a loads of people but in the end he's completely alone.

Unknown said...

Nice post, Me. Just this morning, a college buddy emailed me this Venn diagram that makes a related point about the intersections of what we want to do, what we do well and what we can get paid to do.
Finding "Hooray!"

And for the record, the person who was trying to guide you to Powerhousedom...is an idjit, and Teenie and Lucila are right--surely compensating for his own shortcomings in biz and life.

Unknown said...

Sounds like someone's jealous of you. No, really.
When you've got all the richness and powerfulness, you've gotta worry about projecting the right image

I'd love to be rich and have everything that goes along with it. And that's my goal, and I plan on attaining that goal. But ya know what? If I only end up doing enough to scrape by, but my Roth IRA does what it's supposed to (and they never fail), i'll net a cool 2 mill at retirement, and retire on the eastern Italian coast. 40-50k a year? More than enough for me.

Tell that guy to read up on Billy Mays. The guy never hawked a product that he didn't believe in. And he rarely pitched a product that he sold for more than 19.99. And yet the man had at least one Bentley, and a sweet ass private plane.

Keep taking the small deals and what makes you happy. One of your small projects just might turn into an OxyClean.

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