I recently had the opportunity to speak on a panel with about passion, creativity and entrepreneurship sponsored by Happy Healthy Women and Fresh Collective and featuring the fabulous Laura-Jean Bernhardson, Sacha Lalla, and Natalie Colalillo and our moderator was the lovely Karla Smith. One of the questions Karla asked us each was, “What is your definition of success?”

Have you defined success for yourself?

There are three main components in my definition of success, all of them inter-related.

1. Sovereignty

I used to call this freedom but sovereignty captures the essence even more. Success to me means being able to direct my energy, my time, my life towards what is meaningful and worthy to me.

2. Legacy

Every time I am able to contribute to my body of work, I consider that success. When that work is able to then make a difference in the lives of others, doubly so.

3. Enjoyment

If I miss out on the joy of living my own life, of creating and sharing my body of work and making a difference, than I will have missed the point entirely. If I am blessed to be able to do what is meaningful to me, it is an act of gratitude to enjoy it.

What’s your definition of success?

We often work so very hard. Knowing our personal definition of success helps us ensure that all that effort is being put in the right place.