What is success?

For too long, I was chasing someone else's definition of success, the version that society tells us we should want. I went to university, got a degree in Computer Science, and landed a tech job. It was a path I'd chosen, but equally felt like I had no choice in.

It felt like a borrowed dream, a life that someone else would be incredibly grateful for. But not me. I was left feeling empty and directionless, like I was living someone else's life.

I've come to realise that success is deeply personal. It's not about meeting external expectations or checking boxes that others have defined. It's about understanding what truly matters to you and having the courage to pursue that vision, even when it looks different from what everyone else is doing.

Once you define what success is to you, everything changes...

You stop feeling lost because you finally have a clear direction. You stop feeling passionless because you're working toward something that genuinely excites you. You quiet the noise as you realize that what others consider success doesn't mean anything to you, and you can focus on your own path. That's when you can start building a life that actually feels like yours.

A fellow maker summed it up nicely on a recent video of mine:

"Success = doing more things you love and less shite you hate" - @Sawnoakleaf_furniture