Success is an enquiry into the definition of success. Through portraiture and personal narrative, this on-going project invites us to reconsider the ideals we've inherited around what it means to live a successful life.
We live in a world where traditional markers of success such as money, fame, achievement, are often glamorised, yet many who attain them report feeling unfulfilled, anxious, or disconnected. Meanwhile, a quiet revolution is taking place: more people are redefining success on their own terms, stepping away from conventional expectations and towards lives rooted in authenticity, balance, creativity, and care.
Emma Cownley is a freelance writer for Music and lifestyle brands.
I feel successful when faced with the rare, magical alignment of a great client and an exciting project that sits squarely in my creative sweet spot. For example, when I was asked to write a feature article on the horror film 'Hellraiser' for a print issue of Metal Hammer magazine, offered the role of music editor at Witchology Magazine, and attended the premiere of 'Evil Dead Rise' as part of a paid film review. Success is everything I've done, coming together in a 'pinch me' moment.
I have a close circle of very good friends, a sister who's my best friend, and the most amazing partner. I'm proud of my ability to know who to trust and who to keep at arm's length — it's a hard-won skill that I'll never take for granted! So I feel successful in my relationships.
Has your definition of success changed over time?
Absolutely. At the start of my career, I measured success the way I thought everyone else was — having a proper office job with a proper salary. I didn't feel 'good enough' to score any of the roles I really wanted (journalism and blogging), so I focused on climbing out of retail shift work. Only after landing my first copywriting job in 2013 did I realise how badly I'd sold myself short! After that, my ambition pushed me into freelancing, where I've continued to build a career that brings me creative joy. Nowadays, success is the wild pride of winning the awesome opportunities I used to think I wasn't good enough for.
I feel emotions in a very physical way. For me, success is a swelling in my ribcage and fluttering in my stomach. I can't keep the smile off my face, and sometimes, I have to dance a bit to get the energy out! I'm pretty hard on myself, which makes it difficult to experience genuine pride, so I don't hold back when I finally feel it!
Rohan Candappa is an author (Little Book of Stress and Picklehead),playwright and creative.
I felt most successful shortly after my first book ‘The Little Book Of Stress’ was published it topped the Times bestseller list of humorous books. It went on to sell over half a million copies. All that felt pretty successful. Admittedly, at the time, you didn’t have to sell that many books to be the best-selling humour book on that list, but there’s no need for you to know that. And a win’s a win.
What part of your life feels like success right now?
Writing. I write what I like and, on the whole I like what I write. In the past I worked in advertising, what I wrote had to be approved by so many people. When I was writing books that were being published, the process wasn’t as judgemental, but judgements were still being made. And if your books didn’t sell, the plug gets pulled. Now I’m free to go wherever the words, and the ideas take me. Or I take them. That feels like success.
Has your definition of success changed over time?
Yes. And for a very specific reason. When I was preparing to take a show up to the Edinburgh Fringe for the second time, I was worrying about money. How much it all cost, would I break even, could I, be still my breaking heart, perhaps make a profit? It all loomed large in my thinking. Then I got real. I realised that the most shows lose money, so maybe I shouldn’t stress out about it. So, I decided to change my success criteria for the Fringe. My aims became to do a good show, see great shows, meet great people, and lose a shed-load of money. That took the pressure off. And, on those criteria, the next four years my Fringe trips were massively successful. So, if you want to know the Secret Of Success, it’s this. You have to define what success is for yourself. And realise that maybe outcomes are more important than income.
For me, and for what I do now, success often feels, physically, like being knackered. After the books stopped selling, no-one was interested in what I was doing. But my attitude is that if no-one’s letting you in to the playground, build your own one. And it is possible. But it takes a lot of effort, and emotional energy. So by the time a project happens, and the success is making the project happen, you’re knackered. As for what success feels like, emotionally, one word: validation
