Don’t Let Them Define Success For You [Day 27: 30 DBWB]
[This post is an excerpt from the 30 Days To A Better Wedding Business Workbook]
I was reading this post about defining your own success and it does a really good job of putting something I’ve observed around me into words. Most of my friends back home in Michigan have thrown themselves into employment and spent their time working their asses off. The one big exception is my friend KJ who has spent her life having jobs that she enjoys and genuinely gets a kick out of. She has been a professional mud wrestler, an exotic bird trainer and a kickass bartender to name a few and she is one of the most fulfilled people I know. I love her, she inspires me.
Meanwhile, my friends in the UK have all jumped into buying homes that are a stretch for them financially and have effectively locked themselves into their jobs which they don’t exactly love. They did this because “that’s what you’re supposed to do”. The idea of buying property scares me. I do not want to be tied to one place and I don’t see why I should be. I don’t think anyone (aside from KJ) has stopped to ask themselves if this is THEIR definition of success.
Success for me is flexibility and freedom. I want to be able to roam the world as I please while doing work that I love. Some people think it’s weird that I’m married but don’t want to commit to a big purchase like a house. That’s because my husband is portable (and children are too by the way).
Photo by Kel Izumi available under a Creative Commons attribution license
What does success mean to you?
Take some time to ponder the following questions:
- What are your money goals?
- What are your lifestyle goals?
- What does your perfect day look like?
- Why did you get into this in the first place?
Achieving that is 100% possible, you just have to create it for yourself instead of following the path that everyone else marches down.
You can have a profitable business without a set location.
You can make a lot of money without working crazy hours.
You can build your business around your life.
Your business can be the driving force behind your lifestyle goals, but first you have to decide what your success looks like.
Don’t let anyone else tell you what it should look like. Don’t let anyone should all over you.
