Define Your Own Success

For Photogs

November 25, 2015

 

 

Success (n)

: the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame

: the correct or desired result of an attempt

: someone or something that is successful : a person or thing that succeeds

(Found on http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/success)

 

This is something I feel so passionately about. What defines our success? What makes us successful? I truly went looking for a definition to try and figure it out. No where in this definition did I find anything related to having thousands of Instagram followers or a minimum for how many weddings a photographer should shoot per year. The truth is, why should we let someone else define our success? We define our own success!

Envy can be something that, if we let it, can completely consume our lives. Trust me, I still occasionally fall into that trap. It’s not an easy thing to avoid, but why are we envious? Do we care so much because they have 10,000 more followers than us or because they have the life that we want? The life, that mind you may not even be exactly as it appears.

For me, being successful is shooting 25 weddings a year. Weddings that fit my brand specifically. Success is balancing my work life with my home life. It would mean I can have a consistent work flow while also cooking dinner majority of week nights. It would mean spending more time with Shawn, my boyfriend, eating orange chicken and watching movies while also having a wedding half the weekends of the year. Add in about 30-50 senior sessions a year and there you have it, my success.

Does this look the same for you? It doesn’t have to! We don’t have to live the way others expect us to. The greatest part about being your own boss is managing your own time and making your own rules. So do that! Do what you want and live life how you want.

  1. I totally and fully agree! Success, just like beauty and many other things in this world, is in the eye of the beholder. It’s odd when others try to force their opinion as fact. What’s true for you, is what’s true. On a side note, I love your work!

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