Success is not Final

This week's prompt is about Success. The word success has a very specific meaning, but the interpretation given by each person can be different. What is a success for me, may not be so for you. But what is certain is that success is not final.

For some people, success is in the perception that others have of them. Today's society encourages us to be successful. Social networks are full of photos of ideal moments and dream lives. In social networks, those who want to be perceived as successful people, don't show obstacles, don't show difficulties, there aren't disappointments and everything is joy and happiness. But is that a reality or a fantasy? A person perceived as successful can have a very empty life. For me, success understood as social recognition is not the key to happiness. It's not the kind of success I look for.

Sometimes, I have my reserves with the use of the word success and I prefer to use the word achievement. The difference from my point of view between success and achievement is that the former implies social recognition and the latter for me is associated with personal well-being. On the way to fulfill ourselves and reach a goal, we can fail. But the important thing is to keep the momentum, get up and continue.

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

Winston Churchill

After I read that Churchill quote about success and failure. I started to think about how my professional career has been. And how in certain moments of my career these phrases fit perfectly.

Success is not final

I graduated as an Industrial Engineer and did a Master's in Finance. My second job was arguably my dream job. I worked for an information technology company linked to the oil industry in my country, which I'll call Company I. At that time, Venezuela was still a land of opportunities. And my career in that company was quite successful from my personal point of view. I had a job that I liked a lot. I was well paid. I had opportunities to travel with my job. In a short time, I got several promotions. And I still had room to continue climbing in the company. But circumstances that weren't in my hands changed everything overnight.

The oil industry is a state-run industry in Venezuela. By the time I was working for Company I, career employees of the oil industry began to show their dissatisfaction with government policies. Meritocracy was replaced by political leanings. And to make the story short, as a consequence of the discomfort, the employees went on a general strike demanding their rights. The president at the moment, Hugo Chávez, in response to the strike decided to dismiss most of the employees of the industry. We are talking about approximately 18,000 people being laid off. This marked the beginning of the end of prosperity in Venezuela, and years later the country is plunged into one of the worst economic crises in history.

As a result Company I, disappear as many other contractors associated with the oil industry. I didn't lose my job immediately. I took part in the liquidation of the company. But overnight, my success was gone. Success is not final.

I was successful in Company I because I got the recognition I expected. And also, my achievements in the economic aspect were very well rewarded.

Failure is not fatal

After a while, I worked for another company, where I wasn't doing badly. But where I didn't feel fulfilled as in Company I. So one day, I decided that the time had come to take a turn and accept a new challenge in my life. My husband is a filmmaker. At that time, he got some resources from a culture fund to make his first feature film. He has always been good at the creative side. But financial planning and cash management aren't his things. So there was in front of me, a new challenge. One that I'd never looked for, nor had I considered in my life. Executive production of a movie. And I thought the skills were there. Planning, cash management, budget, resource management, all aspects were familiar to me. So I said to myself. Why not?

I won't go into details about the experience. But it was a huge challenge. I made mistakes along the way. And I learned how to correct them. The movie was done.

Distribution in Venezuela wasn't a problem. The legislation protects the exhibition of local cinema in the country. But the international one was a completely different subject. It's a harsh world. The internet is full of stories of independent filmmakers and producers at the mercy of the market for sales agents and distributors.

We ended up with a terrible Sales Agent. Our return has been scant. And although we hadn't invested a large amount of our money, it was a couple of years of hard work. For a time, I felt that I had failed. The film can be considered a success. It was exhibited in theaters here for several weeks. It had an extensive media coverage better than the average local movie. It has been exhibited in many international festivals. But I considered that by having failed in one of the aspects, I'd failed in my task. I tend to be hard on myself. My husband's perception was different. He had made the film. We liked the result. And no matter how good or bad it has been, we had international distribution.

Until one day, I decided that I can't continue licking my wounds. The situation was affecting my relationship and I just looked ahead. I took a challenge and had achieved the main objective. If today, there were a new opportunity to make another film and produce it ourselves, I would do it. And I would be much more prepared to negotiate with the sharks of the independent film distribution world.

It is the courage to continue that counts

And after my experience in film production, I had to immerse myself in the world of making money online. About this, I could write a book. But I'm not going to bore you with this. I'll leave it for another time. I've looked for a way to reinvent myself and move on. Sometimes, I've received some offers to return to the corporate world. But I think it's a stage that I've already overcome. Now, there are other things that I also value. How and when I spend my time doing a job is important to me. And going back to an office is not in my plans.

Did I fail in my professional life? No way. Do I have the house in the Caribbean that maybe I dreamed of many years ago when I graduated from university? I don't have it. Does it make me feel like I failed? Not at all. Of course, I would like a house with a sea view, who doesn't want it? But I'm satisfied with my achievements.

I think the important thing is to celebrate our achievements, learn from our failures, and have the courage to continue.

Thank you for reading! :)

If you want to participate in the Writing Prompt. You can read Jonica's article on Success here. To participate:

• Write about Success

• Write 100% original content

• Write at least 600 words

• Submit your article to the community PromptlyJonica

• Have fun!

My previous articles on the prompts:

P1- Freedom - What does Freedom mean to me?

P2 - Motivation - Why I'm using cryptos? - my motivations

P4 - Darkness - Five days in the darkness

P5- Questions - Too many questions

P8- Nature - A glimpse of nature in my tropical land

To all my wonderful sponsors, thank you all!

Images credit on the caption.

Until next time. :)

July 21, 2021