The Question of Success

“What is your greatest success?”

I was asked that question last night by a former student working on an interview for a music education class. Seemingly simple, it turned out to be a loaded question, and since it’s been stewing in my brain for a while, and other recent conversations with family and friends have also revolved around success, I thought it might help to put some thoughts down here and see what comes of it. Here’s where I am today:

1. Every individual gets to define success for themselves
2. To insist on forcing others into ones definition of success is to deny them their individual identities
3. People’s definitions of success can and maybe should change/evolve
4. The generally accepted definitions of success, which revolve around money, power, visibility, and external validation, are a social construct that frequently works against the best interests of people and society

Let’s unpack that a little. The first point seems kind of obvious. My definition of professional success for myself is something along the lines of being able to contribute adequately to the financial security of myself and my family while being in a situation to, through music, be positioned and available to add positively to the lives of others. This naturally took me into teaching, but also allows me to feel successful working with church and community choirs, playing in rock and jazz bands, singing, blogging, and doing recording studio work. It means that if my skills and philosophies are a good fit, I don’t need to be teaching in a high-profile program or conducting at a major convention. One of my favorite performances was in a back room at a hotel for about 25 alumni of the school I was working for at the time. The acoustics were awful, the crowd was about the same size as the choir… but that choir sang with more unity of purpose that I have ever experienced, and the results were tangible. The energy in the room was transformative. People’s lives were positively affected through music. Success! No big conference, giant crowd, or fat paycheck necessary.

I have friends whose definitions of success revolve around family, around money, around free time, around travel… the possibilities are limitless. If I were to measure their success by the standard I hold for myself, I would think some of them were total failures. Of course they’re not. They’re striving for different goals. And that’s crucial for our society!

Let’s say we all subscribed to the idea that success meant getting the highest paying job in one’s chosen field. My field is choral music. I don’t know what the highest paying job in choral music is, but I’m pretty sure it’s not teaching middle school choir (and it probably should be!). I’m pretty sure it’s not teaching in a small rural school district in a poor county, or teaching at an inner city charter school. But if we hold to the idea that one is only successful if they make top dollar, then we create a system where people in those very crucial teaching situations are not valued. Why would we celebrate a “failure?” But we need good teachers in the above situations badly. And we should celebrate the people who take on the tough jobs for not enough money because they believe in the value of what they’re doing (we should also work hard to get them paid what they’re worth!). The singers in those choirs deserve every bit as good a choir experience as the singers in the schools that pay top dollar. To believe otherwise is to do a tremendous disservice to our society.

Point 3 on the list has gone unaddressed, (which means I probably should have written my list after I wrote my content, but I didn’t and so here we are) but I think is worth a thought. Can and should people’s definition of success for themselves change and evolve? I have a BA in Voice. I only became a choir director by accident, but it’s because my definition of success evolved. I would have told you I was going to be a singer because I wanted to have a career in music and I loved to sing (a different evolution–I started college as a trombonist, but eventually realized I was more drawn to vocal music). I fell into a teaching job by accident, and without even noticing at first, my values changed. It was suddenly important to me not only to be in vocal music, but to be able to facilitate learning, growth, and community. From this came my new definition of success, and I’ve never for a moment thought of looking back.

Right now, with a first child on the way and a career hiccup caused by major philosophical differences at a job, I feel that I am re-balancing and evolving again. At first it was scary, but as I live in it, and survive, and find ways to be successful that are different but every bit as valid as having a full-time teaching job, I find myself excited for what I may learn, how I may grow, and how it might help me refine my definition of success for myself. The future is an exciting, scary place, and I’m looking forward to it!

Have thoughts on success? Please share below!