Defining Success

It probably isn't what you think

Creative success might be an oxymoron. Especially when society tells you fire is only successful if it burns down the world.

And you’re standing there holding a single candle.

Many strivers equate success to financial abundance. In this digital age success requires millions of social media followers.

My creative success blows like ash in the wind. Anything less than hundreds of five-star reviews feels like underachieving.

I wrote the books. They were published, but then the world went silent. That must mean they didn’t hit the mark. In my mind, these stories failed.

When another writing course doesn’t push the sales up, it must be time to attend another conference. Or maybe hiring a marketing specialist will work.

Except those Amazon ad campaigns peter out. The few sales don’t even pay for the clicks and the ad manager’s fee. More failure that cost hours of hard work with minimal return on the investment.

Because in America more means better. Anything less is not success. Look at all the authors who are making money and selling books.

I’m exhausted and discouraged chasing their fire. And what if sales aren’t the measure of authentic success?

Faith says God lights the candle and places it in the right window to provide light to wanderers in need. Each one reach one sounds spiritual, but in practice reaching only one feels… less than successful.

For a child of God, success looks like obedience. It looks like spiritual growth rather than bursting bank accounts. Success isn’t about reaching the world but reaching the one person who needs to hear your story.

Did he ask me to reach everyone? No, he gave me a story to tell. And when I tell it in a forum where it can be seen, then I’ve done as he required.

Obedience ends once the words are written and shared. What happens after isn’t mine to control.

In this paradigm, sales numbers aren’t a true measure of success. And comparing those stats serves only to steal the joy of creating.

“Be content” in whatever state you find yourself. Whether that’s as a poor writer with an audience in the double-digits or a well-paid author selling books to millions.

No, you are not “less than” because God didn’t call you to the bestseller’s stage. Those people aren’t better Christians or even better storytellers. They’ve got a bonfire to tend, and doesn’t that sound exhausting?

So, I whisper a prayer of gratitude. I trim the wick on my slender wax taper. Then I sit down at my computer and write the next story.

**If you want to read my books, find them here.