As artists and performers we all strive and desire to be successful.   But it is important to know what success is and how we are measuring it.

This concept is easiest to understand using the acting paradigm, but the same is true for all of us.

You must answer this question: what does success mean to you – PERSONALLY?

Is it your name on the marquee?  Is it being paid a lot of money to perform?  Is it great critical acclaim by the critics?  Is it being Tony or Oscar winner?  Is it performing a variety of parts?  Is it touching people’s hearts?

i know the quick answer is “Yes, all of the above.”  But it’s important to understand your personal ranking of these different versions of success.

Understanding this for yourself is important, because you could easily be a huge critical success and be paid nothing and feel a failure – if success for you is earning money.  Or  the reverse.  Likewise, another actor might be a Tony nominee but never have won and feel a failure.  And yet the person who has never been a nominee would say “Well what’s their problem!?”

These are real feelings we all grapple with.

So the essential key is this; to understand what success is to you personally.  Know that going in and you will have a measure to gage where you are on your success journey and a way to focus that journey by the choices you make.