What is Your Definition of Success?

When I meet someone who isn’t familiar with my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast and they, as a result, ask what it is, I tell them that I interview “guests who are having success in entertainment, primarily music.”  And from there one of the follow up questions I might get is, “Well, what do you mean ‘having success’?”

I have said before, not only on the podcast, but in one-on-one conversations, that everyone has their own definition of ‘success.’  And by the way, not only is that okay, but you should have your own definition of the word too.  In fact, I would say that it’s vital that you do.  Here’s why.

Mental health is everything these days.  Don’t believe me?  Take a step back and look at how much is done to raise awareness and provide education on the matter.  Talk to people who are dealing with real mental health problems and you’ll find out really fast how important it is to take care of yourself that way.

Last night I was looking at a series of Instagram Stories that repeatedly showed the current top selling books.  Over and over as each post went by, I saw some combination of the same five books.  Their authors were the likes of the late Matthew Perry, Britney Spears, Geddy Lee (from Rush), Barbra Streisand, and, well, you get it.  They are all celebrities.

The point here is that if you’re a writer and you define success as having the number one best-selling book, the deck is stacked against you.  Massively.  And your mental health will suffer even if you have great sales, but not of the number one or even top five variety.



So, define success for you – realistically.

I remember someone working for a National Hockey League team who once joked, “We can sell a million tickets at a dollar each or we can sell one ticket for a million dollars.”  It makes me think of one of my performer clients, recording artist Frankie Raye, who is pretty much always performing.  Yes, really.  In fact, in 2021 she had 388 bookings (yes, there were 365 days that year) and 330 last year.  (As of a month ago she was somewhere between 290-300.)

What is success for you as a performer?  If it’s, “I just want to open one show for one A-lister,” but you do very little else, the luster is going to fade on that marquee show and you’re going to sit home idle with people asking, “But what have you done lately, though?”  Wouldn’t you rather be playing all the time like Frankie Raye?

And to my fellow podcasters I challenge you as well to determine what success looks like for you.  Everyone wants to be in the Top 10 on iTunes, but there are other mileposts that you can strive for without the disappointment of not getting to or near the top.

I’m proud to have never missed an episode once in more than nine-and-a-half years.  I’m thrilled that “Now Hear This Entertainment” has gotten listeners from 163 countries around the world since the show started in February 2014.  Heck, it’s one of the top two percent most popular shows out of more than 3.2 million podcasts globally.  I’ll take all that even if it’s not routinely in the Top 10 on iTunes.


I’ve met some really great folks along the way with the guests that I’ve interviewed too.  So, in other words, it doesn’t just have to be about ranking or (as so many people are so quick to ask me) whether I’m monetizing or not.

So, does that provide enough perspective to get your wheels turning?  What is your definition of success?

If you’ve identified that but are struggling with one or more of the steps to reach one or more of your goals, call me and let’s talk through it.  For almost 20 years I’ve been helping folks across the U.S. from indie music artists to authors, entrepreneurs, actors and filmmakers, small business owners and podcasters.  Take advantage of all my years of experience to ensure that you’re pointed in the right direction.  I’ll look forward to chatting with you!