76, 76, 77, 78: #MyMetric for Success...Or Is It?

I had an epiphany a few months ago! Wait a second, let me start from the beginning.

First a few definitions according to Merriam-Webster:

Success: someone or something that is successful; a person or thing that succeeds.

Succeeds: to do what you are trying to do; to achieve the correct or desired result.

I’ve been in Talent Acquisition for many years and just recently took my passion for photography to the next level.  A few months ago, I entered my second Professional Photographers of America (PPA) District Competition.  I blindly entered it in 2015 with four images and one was sealed for the International Photographic Competition (IPC).  Somehow I inadvertently unsealed it but that’s another story!

I’ve been told that meriting on the first try is a good metric for success but I wanted all four images to do well!  For 2016, I armed myself with as much data as possible and even asked for critiques from fellow photographers.  This time…I was ready! I submitted four images and waited for judging to happen.  For an image to be worthy of a merit and sealed for the IPC, the image needed to score an 80 or above.  I submitted four images and I received the following scores: 76, 76, 77, and a 78.  Although those numbers still mean “above average”, talk about a feeling of disappointment, discouragement, “I’m not worthy,” and every other adjective in-between. Suffice it to say, I was bummed and it showed. 

I looked at those numbers and in my mind, they determined whether I was successful or not.  It took me a few days to get over that “I feel like a loser” mantra repeating in my head until someone mentioned in passing to me, “I absolutely love the pictures that you took of my son this past Football season.”  This triggered another moment when a mother sent me a Facebook message that made me cry.  I unknowingly captured her son’s last images of him playing on his home high school field during his last high school game.  Due to an injury he sustained soon after those images were taken, he was unfortunately unable to play in the State Championship game the following week.  Wait…this isn’t a sad story because his football career will continue to go on and he committed to an SEC Football Team! Back to the story at hand.

This is the moment I had an epiphany! 

Does it truly matter what the numbers 76, 76, 77, and 78 mean if you absolutely love what you do?  That’s when I determined that #MyMetric for success is Happiness.  (Cue Pharrell Williams' Happy song!)

For me, it's as simple as that.  Am I happy? As a photographer, I absolutely enjoy what I do!  It’s not about 76, 76, 77, and 78 or the image sales…it’s about hearing those messages from parents.  As a corporate recruiter, I love what I do.  It’s not about the #TimeToFill or #SurveyResponseRate...it’s getting messages from candidates months or even years after you’ve hired them saying “Thank you for hiring me ” or “Coming here was the best decision I’ve made in my career…so Thank You!”

Don’t let the metrics define your success because most likely there is so much more to it than just numbers (I’m sure those in Sales will argue with me).  I’m not going to turn a blind eye to 76, 76, 77, and 78 or any other metrics I have as a recruiter but instead of them defining my success, they are my drivers.  At the end of the day, I want to continue doing the best job possible whether it’s as a photographer or a recruiter and those metrics drive me to learn more.

So, ask me if I plan to enter another District Photographic Competition?  Absolutely but until then, as long as I'm happy, I'm a success.

Thanks for reading!