Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Google Play

What does it mean to be successful as a writer?

It’s a simple question—you might say even deceptively simple. Why? Because we don’t often stop to think about how we define success.

We are so accustomed to certain metrics that we seldom question our ideas of success. Like a dog chasing a car, we continue to run after it, never stopping to wonder if we should be chasing that particular car in the first place.

We typically define success in terms of achievement. When someone has a successful book launch and reaches a certain number of online reviews, we brand that as a success. When someone sells a certain amount of books, we brand that as a success. When someone gets a publishing deal with one of the top five New York publishing houses, we brand that as a success.

Are those achievements worthwhile?

Of course they are. Many writers have achieved those metrics, and there doesn’t seem to be much of a downside to having lots of online reviews, book sales, or the marketing power of a big publisher.

However, there is one big problem with defining success as the achievement of a big goal: you can’t be successful every day.

In fact, if you put all your stock into a big book launch every couple of years, you’ll only feel successful for a couple of weeks, during the big book launch, about once every two years.

In 1956, the influential broadcaster Earl Nightingale recorded a brief spoken word record titled The Strangest Secret. In this recording, he identified the best definition of success he had ever heard: “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal.”

What does this mean for writers?

It means you are a success when you take one step closer toward your big goals. Every day that you write, you’re a success. Every day you take care of your health, you’re a success. Every day that you do something to build your writing platform, you’re a success. Every day that you conquer self-doubt and fear, and you keep doing the work anyway, you’re a success.

Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal. Every day you make progress, even if it’s just a little bit, you’re a success.