Success

How do you measure success? Success. When you read that word, what images come to your mind? We all know people that seem to succeed at everything. Everything they try works. They win many awards. They make a lot of money. They are recognized for their achievements. Their health issues are manageable.

Recently, I attended the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival. The program that Abby and I watched showcased films about shark finning, manta ray fisheries and saving whales. Based on the number of people in the theatre, the Festival was a huge success! The producers of the films were able to deliver their message. The shark-finning movie disturbed me greatly. The sight of a magnificent, powerful animal having its fins sliced off, then pushed, squirming, back into the ocean to die, was horrific. It really doesn't seem worth it for a bowl of soup!

Another successful event that I was honored to participate in again this year was the annual Expanding Your Horizons in Math and Science Conference (EYH). Young girls from all around the Bay Area attended this conference, participating in three different workshops throughout the day. Each workshop was led by a woman who uses math or science in her career. Now in its 32nd year, EYH has always been very successful.

These two events, which represent a lot of hard work by a lot of people, were measurably successful. Personal success is sometimes more difficult to measure. Some people measure their personal success by how much money they make. Others measure how much they like their job, how happy their marriage is, or how many friends they have. Part of looking for and accepting cranberries in the face of overwhelming lemons is recognizing your own, less obvious, successes.

I had four book presentations last month, and if I measure their success solely by the number of books sold, they were not very successful. But, still looking at this from a marketing perspective, telling my story to community groups can certainly lead to more community talks, which WILL eventually increase book sales. In addition, I have been told many times that my story is inspirational, and if I've inspired  even ONE person to continue to work hard despite tragedy, I consider that to be a success.

Part of being able to accept life's cranberries is the ability to modify your goals based on your own achievements or abilities. I'm NOT saying to just give up if you don't reach your goal, or to spin negative experiences into positive ones, but sometimes a modified goal can help you achieve success!