How Do You Measure Success?

Success is such a relative word.  How do you measure your own success?  I was recently talking to my brother about this while I was delayed in the Portland Maine Airport. We couldn't decide how one measures success for themselves, and therefore if there was a scale upon which you could relate one's successes against another's.  

It was told to me by a New Yorker while I was still in college that to be successful in the Acting field is to work.  To work more than others.  To consistently prove you are in the upper echelon of the field.  That is the only way to success.  Or so I was told.

That sounded exhausting to me.  So I chose a different path.  I forged my own.  I decided right then and there that I would work hard, and tirelessly for me.  Not for comparisons, and not for the sake of people telling stories about me, or for my parents to brag.  I decided to work hard, every day, for me and me alone.

I was fortunate enough that after college, I was employed essentially straight from June 1st until the end of September.  I used that time to focus my craft, cultivate friendships, and most importantly, enjoy myself.  It's easy for me to forget that I do this because I love it.  I feel truly alive in the moments where I remember that I am lucky enough to not have a job that I hate, that I'm able to support myself on my art, and that I'm able to be surrounded by some of the greatest people I've ever known.

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