For most of us, there are at least two components to the success question: personal success, and professional success. And no doubt, I feel professionally successful when I know that I’m making a positive difference in the lives of others. And I’ve felt personally successful for the last 30 years — since the moment I heard the words “I do” from the woman I love.
Professionally, money is always nice; I used to make a ton of money in real estate, but then in 2008, the economy tanked and the housing market collapsed. Even then, I would probably have been fine, but something else happened in 2008: I was hospitalized twice and nearly died. And the best that any doctor could figure, that shock to my system caused Fibromyalgia. Chronic pain has been with me ever since. I tried, but after a while I realized that I just was not physically able to work as hard as I had before. And the money dried up fast.
But money is not what makes me feel successful.
I grew up in a cult. (Details on that soon, for paying subscribers.) We weren’t allowed to own a TV. Bikes were verboten. Movies, too. The other kids and I could not go to public school; instead, we went to the church building five days a week while they pretended to the government that it was a legitimate private school. And college? Hell, no. Again: against the rules of the leader; the self-styled “apostle”. You get the idea: lots of rules, and as little contact with the outside world as possible — especially for the kids. (Yes, I love em dashes and will continue to use them. Fuck AI writing.) When I turned 18, I got the hell out of Dodge.
So it probably won’t come as a surprise to you that personal freedom is one of my most important barometers of success. When I get up in the morning, do I check email before coffee? Do I work in the middle of the night and go to a movie in the middle of the day? Sometimes, yeah. That freedom is very important to me. Yes, I work hard. And a lot. But I choose when I do it. (And a million thanks to the Patreons and Substack subscribers who make it possible.)
This is why I like to ask interviewees this question: I get a different answer every time.
I don’t mean to suggest that my barometer of success and yours should be the same. My wife is a high school teacher, and she’s very passionate about it. She loves it. If we won the lottery tomorrow, I have no doubt that she’d continue to teach. She gets up early every weekday during the school year. Sometimes I get up early, and sometimes I don’t. You get the picture.
If you made it this far, tell me: What does success mean to you?
Thanks for reading,
Mike
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