Success

What is it, to be "successful". Many of us at midlife start to wonder what that means exactly. Is it a fully funded pension (I hope not!); is it a paid off mortgage (again, I hope not!), ha ha. Especially for women this is a tricky question. "Having it all" means we fragment ourselves into a thousand pieces. I think in the past "success" to me was the acquisition of things: spouse, children, house, trips, stuff. Now, today, I will define success as being comfortable in my own skin. We all know those people who are just very comfortable with who they are and what they do. They are distinguished by the way they do whatever job it is with care and intent. This picture is a flower shop in our town. Is is "successful"? Well, it's been there for a long time and I'm sure has created many moments of delight, so I would say yes, without looking at the balance sheet, this business is very "successful".