Over the years, I have found that most of the "standard" measures of success mean pretty little.
Money- well, once your bills are paid, and you have food in your belly, more money doesn't add much happiness.
Material things- while one car will revolutionize your life, a garage-full of Bentleys only serve to annoy you. And, as long as that car gets me where I'm going, I'm not really concerned with what the other guy is driving. I am proud to say my bedroom looks just like "The Donald's" when the lights are out!
Status- since when have I ever cared much what folks think of me? Folks who seem to make a big thing out of how "respectable" or "successful" they are usually turn out to be either shallow, or crooks...
I enjoy this trade because I see a job through from dirt lot to opening day. When I say things are ready....fully confident that when the switch is flipped, the lights will work.....I feel I've really accomplished something.
I was recently told that a neighbor was saying what a kind, decent person I was. Hearing that made me feel pretty good. My customers also seem fond of me, and that is a "success." (Especially when this fondness is expressed by the customer insisting that the general contractor use me!)
In more "business" related terms, I fell a job is a "success" if it is completed in the time I anticipated, at the cost I estimated, and as I had originally imagined. I also measure "success" by how well the completed job serves the customer; if I am hired to add another receptacle, because I put the original one in a poor place- that is a failure to me. Ditto if my lighting solution doesn't work out as I had hoped.
One of my customers- a government agency- is sometimes forced to hire a different firm. That they keep coming back to me is also a "success."
My biggest success, however, is the loyalty and love that my household has given me. To come home, and sleep peacefully, surrounded by those you love is a real success.
