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How do we "Define" Success? An exploration...

denmarkguyPosted for Everyone to comment on, 5 years ago4 min read

I haven't gotten very far into my explorations of the Whaleshares community and blogging platform. To be honest, so far all I have done is think about what I want this blog to "mean," and how I plan to get there.

Maybe that sounds a bit convoluted, but I was basically thinking about the whole idea of "success," and what it means.

Moon
Don't think we're going to the MOON here...

What does a "successful" blog LOOK like? Does a blog need to have a "purpose?"

What would make me think that my venture onto Whaleshares was "successful?"

Knowing Where You Want to Go...

This may come across as pretty elementary — and even patronizing — but unless you have a pretty clear plan of what you want to accomplish, how can you expect to determine whether or not you have succeeded?

flowers
Plants on the railing

I don't think you can.

Sure, you can say "I feel successful at this!" but are you really? Many moons ago when I lived down in Texas, I had a college buddy who opened a video store (Yes, I'm OLD!) and felt he was highly "successful" because there were tens of thousands of dollars cycling through every month, and people told him his store was great.

But he soon ended up closing the store because it turned out while "sales" were excellent, "net profits" were a monthly negative by thousands.

And yet... he perceived he was successful.

Leaving us with the question of whether success has to be "tangible," or is the feeling enough? How do we define it?

Differing Definitions... a Look at Art

Perceptions matter more in the fields or art and creativity than almost anywhere else.

grass
Pampas grass against a blue sky

I think about artists and writers I know, and what each thinks of as "having succeeded" runs a vast range. For some artists, simply being able to execute what you see with your mind's eye is considered a great success. For others, success is measured in terms of acclaim and recognition. For a few, it's all about the money.

There are writers who feel successful simply because they completed a manuscript; there are others for whom nothing short of the New York Times Bestseller list would feel like success.

Is anyone "right?" Or "wrong?"

Probably not.

All of these are successes in their own way.

The point here, is that we need to find ways to measure this success in terms of what's meaningful to us.

Meanwhile, Back in the Blogosphere

But let's get back to Whaleshares, for a moment.

Flower
Purple miniature lupine

Why are we here, anyway? Surely there is more to it than just "blockchain curiosity." There definitely is, for me. On the other hand, I really haven't ever started a blog — or any kind of writing project — without having some sort of purpose.

"To make money... the rewards!"

No, not really.

I long since have junked the idea that any site — blockchain based or otherwise — has the capacity to generate (in the long run) much more than a handful of change for more than 1% or less of its users. Sounds a bit like real life, doesn't it? So "rewards" are something I am grateful for, but I can't say I ever use it as a "reason" for writing anything.

So pretty much, it looks like I am going to be using this as my "personal musics and explorations" blog. Which basically means it will cover soup to nuts.

So I would have to say this blog will be "successful," if I manage to come here and add a couple of updates a week, stay authentically myself and don't cave to "what's popular," then I would consider this a success.

I do love interaction, so that will be the same as any of my other venues. "Engagement" rocks! So DO leave a comment!

Why are YOU here? And what do you hope to accomplish with your Whaleshares blog, if anything?

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL content, created expressly for Whaleshares)
Created: 181102 16:53 PDT

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