I know. I know.

This question has been dragged through mud, over concrete, beneath spotlights and at this point must be beaten, worn, tired and thoroughly dried out. In other words, there is no juice left in this question...and yet, here I go asking.

Since success cannot be measured by one act, given life is a journey of ups and downs, is why I ask, "how do you measure success?"

I measure success by adding up all of my successes; i.e., published work, finished work, books sold... and read, plus signings, accolades, monetary awards, jobs, careers, relationships, age, children, travels and so forth and so on... and multiply those specifics by each of my failures, to include criticisms, disingenuous advice, assistance that goes nowhere... and then put those narratives under a magnifying glass, inside a measuring cup, and pour it back into my writing.

Now, I ask you, how do you measure success?