That’s Not Your Success

When you work in a system optimized for producing average stuff that will sell to the most number of people, you succeed when large numbers of meaningless transactions are secured.

When you work for a company that prioritizes small margins and high volume, you succeed when you push stuff through, run it down the line, get it to review, at a high volume.

When you spend your day meeting standards that are designed for the common denominator, the average low, you succeed if you float just above the cutoff, just higher than necessary.

That success is printed on plaques and hung in the office but not carried in our self-perception.

That success is stenciled on certificates but not etched on our spirit.

You may get promoted, get a raise, receive public praise from the higher-ups. But your anxiety will grow because you burn with the desire to truly succeed. At life. At making a difference. At creating beautiful things that require concern and concentration and craft.

Accept the accolades at work, but when you get home, after hours, when no one is watching, begin working on that which only you can truly define as successful.