Thoughtful Thursday: What's Success Anyhow?

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post, I was thinking earlier today about the nature of success. What is it exactly? What does it mean to succeed at one’s dreams?

Okay, so, Dan hopes to win an Oscar for a film that he will someday write and/or direct, while I dream of earning a Pulitzer Prize for my writing... So, what could happen if we eventually achieve such goals? Would that be the pinnacle of our success? What does it mean to strive for something, and what happens when one achieves it? Is that it? Is there anything to crave for beyond that? And what does it mean if one never attains such goals? That success will forever be out of reach?

Despite our ambitions (however lofty they might seem), I believe it’s healthier to think of life as a series of little successes, instead of always striving for one big success that might only leave us disappointed.

I was musing about such things as I prepared for the opening night party of our film fest tonight – and I thought about it again several hours later, once the filmmakers and volunteers had left the Kerry for the night. Remembering the smiling faces, the energetic atmosphere, and the way my hubby looked as he chatted with our guests – many of whom had come from faraway towns and cities, and some of whom were getting all they could out of the Big Easy’s partying culture (if you know what I mean) – I felt an incredible sense of pride. This will be our eighth film festival weekend as co-directors – and even if our ultimate goals, such as having a film theatrically distributed or a novel traditionally published, are far in the future – we’ll always have this weekend, this little success (if all goes smoothly, of course), and that’s enough for now.