Moving Target - What is the Definition of "Success?"

This will likely be short and sweet (or less sweet than simply to-the-point - you be the judge when we're done), but when I saw that the EtsyBloggers blog carnival topic for the week was "Success," it got my wheels turning...

It's interesting how much the concept of "success" has changed for me since I started the business (or, more accurately, since I opened my Etsy shop). When I started, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in February, I was very focused on sales and specific sales goals. As we discussed in May, I'd hoped to reach 100 sales by a certain point, and I achieved that. That, I thought, was the definition of "success." The more sales that came rolling in, the more "successful" I felt. In fact, at one point after I'd hit 100 sales, someone convo'd me and referred to me as a "successful Etsy seller." I was thrilled!

But, ironically, when I read this week's blog carnival topic, my sales weren't the first thing to come to my mind. In fact, the first thing to come to my mind was my schedule! I know, I know... If you read the blog regularly, you undoubtedly think at this point that I'm a time-obsessed nut job, but my schedule represents something really important to me - my ability to balance my "selfish" endeavors (i.e. the business and my volunteering) with my more important endeavors (i.e. mommying). It represents my ability to separate the designer me from the Mommy me, and the fact that I'm finally able to do something for myself without compromising my kid's confidence that no matter what, she's my first priority. Thanks to that schedule, although I assembled 60 custom thank you cards, printed 170 invitations, listed several new designs, upgraded my Trunkt portfolio, blogged, and participated in promos today, Natalie and I spent no less than two hours together huddled over her favorite puzzles, had a fabulous lunch together, took an always-exciting trip to the craft store, and managed to get Daddy’s birthday present wrapped before he got home.

And that, my friend, after all the trial and error and desperate attempts to figure out how I would get it all done and still feel OK about my role as Mom... that is what success means to me right now.