“Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.” ~ John Wooden

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful, that’s what success means to me.” ~ Steve Jobs

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be” ~ George Sheehan

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But wait... let's go back a minute. What is success?
According to Wikipedia... Success may mean, but is not limited to:

-a level of social status
-achievement of an objective/goal
-the opposite of failure

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Basically... there are as many definitions and markers of what is successful... as there are different kinds of donuts. ie: ALOT.

So... how do you determine what success means to you? That is the real question. And it definitely takes some thought. Do you measure success by the dollars in your checking account? By the number of people you help on a day to day basis? By how many times you are published? By who collects your work? or by how many galleries you are featured in?

Think about it. Long and hard. This will ultimately steer you in the direction of your goal. For instance... if you measure success by having a photo featured in National Geographic Magazine... then you set your goal around the ultimate prize of getting published in an oncoming issue. The steps to that, then lay themselves out in a clear and logical pattern towards submission of a great photo and hopeful acceptance for publication.

If your definition of success revolves around a more *cough* balanced checking account... then... there are steps that one would logically follow in increasing your marketing exposure... the number of people who are able to view and purchase your product... and making the best possible product that will be wanted by the most amount of people.

Or is it: being able to do what you love AND make a little money? This is a little more complicated... but certainly do-able in the grand scheme of things. It will take a little more tweaking of your goals so that there is a balance between making money... and making time for doing what you love...but it can be done.

Assignment #1: What does success mean to you...

*photos by Elaine A. Russell