Rolex Watches, Minivans and Your Definition of Success
We all have different goals. We all want different things. Some of us may want fancy cars and Rolex watches, others might just want a quiet life in the suburbs where they can wash the minivan in the driveway every weekend.
There is nothing wrong with either of those. There is no single definition of success, but it is important to have your own definition and pursue that.
My definition does not necessarily involve fancy things. I primarily want the time and headspace to create things I’m proud of, the ability to pursue certain things in my personal life, and the ability to provide for my family (once that happens). I enjoy nice things, but in themselves they are not going to get me any closer to achieving those goals.
Unfortunately the culture of entrepreneurship is pretty centered around nice things even though not every entrepreneur wants them. The narrative around building a business of your own constantly tells you that you need to hit that next income milestone, that you need that next new shiny thing.
Assuming you are the type of person who has set those things as a priority, that environment is perfect for you.
However if you are like me, you can end up accidentally pursuing goals that are not aligned with your personal definition of success. That leads to a whole lot of frustration, unhappiness and exactly zero fulfillment.
I’m not going to fault anyone for setting the ‘nice things’ as their priority in life. I understand the appeal, believe me. But if nice things don’t make someone happy, is that the right priority to have?
Lately I have noticed myself veering off course and pursuing things that are not congruent with my goals. I’m a lot less happy, a lot more stressed and a lot less nice to be around. The narrative around what I do tells me that my priorities are wrong, that I need to have the fancy car. It’s hard to argue with the entire culture around something you love, but maybe the culture’s one-size-fits-all approach is broken.
I’m taking a step back and re-evaluating everything. I have been seeing a gap between what I really want and what I am doing. It’s time to realign with my priorities.
