Defining Success — in Life and in Writing

by Beth Vogt @BethVogt

"Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." Winston Churchill

People like to talk about success—they like to bandy about different definitions for it. Success is this. Success is that.

And they’re all usually talking about something as far from failure as you can get.

I’ve been reading Alton Gansky’s book Imagination@ Work. (Alton’s a friend and a colleague.

I admire him. Even if I didn’t know him, I’d recommend his book. It’s like a series of “here’s what I’ve been thinking about” conversations with a witty, intelligent guy.)

But back to the topic at hand: failure.

Alton poses the question: What would you do, if you knew you could not fail? (That is a topic for another blog.)

I answered his question by writing this question in my journal: How do you define failure?

And then I wrote:

Success—less than

And by that I mean that what appears to be success in one person’s eyes can feel like a failure in someone else’s.

Say, for example, I land a book contract.

But I don’t earn out my advance.

Or I don’t win an award.

Or I don’t get offered a second contract.

Or I don’t ______________ (fill in the blank).

It’s the whole “being nibbled to death by ducks” experience. Turning success into failure because it wasn’t good enough.

But Beth, you say, Winston Churchill was talking about success—and defining it as facing failure enthusiastically.

I know. And I love his definition.

But Churchill got me thinking. And so did Alton. We need to enthusiastically face both our failures and our successes and not let the little duckies (dare I name them comparison and envy and disappointment?) nibble them all to pieces.

In Your Words: How do you define failure or success? And how do you face them with enthusiasm?

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Defining success - in life and in #writing - via @BethVogt on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” 

A nonfiction writer and editor who said she’d never write fiction, Beth is now a novelist with Howard Books. She enjoys writing inspirational contemporary romance because she believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us. Connect with Beth on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or check out her blog on quotes, In Others’ Words.

Words and Names

By Beth Vogt @BethVogt

Words have MEANING and names have POWER.

There were a lot of names being tossed around my house.

Not bad names—baby names. My daughter and son-in-love had found out they were having a second daughter, and of course we all started the process of “What do think of ______”?

All sorts of names were offered and some suggestions were even added to their list of possibilities. It was fun, especially when someone found a peculiar name or an indecipherable name—think minimal vowels and an overabundance of consonants.

Being a novelist, I’m more attuned to names than most people. I’m naming the imaginary people populating my books—and then I have to remember those people’s names just as if I were going to send them a birthday card or a Christmas letter every year.

Names are powerful—given names that are often pondered over by our parents before we are born, as well as nicknames and endearments. I’ve loved some of my nicknames—and hated others. And yet, I considered nicknames important and made certain each of my kiddos had one—a special way of saying “I love you” that was all their own.

Yes, words have power—and names can be the most powerful use of words, for better or for worse.

In Your Words: What’s the meaning of your name? If you could change your name, what would you change it to? What do you think of nicknames?

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Words have meaning & #names have power - thoughts from @BethVogt on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

#Names are powerful - would you change yours if you could? Thoughts from @BethVogt (Click to Tweet)

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” 

A nonfiction writer and editor who said she’d never write fiction, Beth is now a novelist with Howard Books. She enjoys writing inspirational contemporary romance because she believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us. Connect with Beth on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or check out her blog on quotes, In Others’ Words.