What Does Success Look Like?

My fellow children of the Nintendo Age know that after the completion of a difficult task, we sometimes discover that the princess is in another castle.

In the first Super Mario game for the NES, it's your adversary who keeps moving the princess you've been tasked with rescuing to another location. (Don't worry, she doesn't stay a hapless damsel for long: there are very nearly as many Mario games as there are stars in the sky, and in many of them, the princess in question is a perfectly capable protagonist in her own right.)

I've come to understand that with this novel, I'm the one who keeps moving the goal.

After completing the first draft: "This isn't really anything to celebrate, because I still have to edit it and fix a bunch of problems."

After completing the fourth draft: "Okay, it's looking better, but I've still got a long way to go."

After completing the final draft: "Great...but all I have is a finished novel, I've still got to get it out in the world."

After getting it on the shelf at Book People: "I still can't celebrate, the next step is to get it on Amazon and in the iBookstore."

After getting it on the Kindle and available for iOS: "This is good, but I've still got to get a book deal, and I've still got to write the sequel, and I've got to become a bestseller, and..."

And, and, and; still, still, still -- always.

So lately I've been asking myself "Well,what does success look like? When are we breaking out the champagne and saying 'I did it'?" I do think there's some value in always seeking the next challenge. It's the only way we'll get off this rock and reach the stars, after all.

On the other hand, this restlessness can make it difficult to appreciate what I have already done. Q-Tip was right: Joni Mitchell never lies, and I know that I need to look at what I've already conquered and take pride in that while I have it, not when it's gone.

But I'm still trying to figure out what success looks like.

Thanks for reading.