In Season 1 of The Nine Oh Six Podcast, we asked the 9 inspirational women we interviewed how they define success - and we learned that success comes in many different forms. Too often we are told that success comes from reaching the top of the proverbial corporate ladder.

What about those who might have different journeys, and are defining success on their own terms?

In this episode, we celebrate them!

Listen to our special mini episode as these nine women share their definition of success. It will leave you inspired!

TRANSCRIPT: Episode 13 - Defining Success on their Own Terms

Meha  0:01 

How do you define success? Success comes in many different forms. Each guest on The Nine Oh Six podcast has defined it in their own way.

Archita  0:12 

As women, too often we are told that success comes from reaching the top of the corporate ladder. What about those who might have different journeys, or are defining success on their own terms? Today, we celebrate them.

Meha  0:28 

Welcome to The Nine Oh Six. I'm Meha Chiraya.

Archita  0:32 

This is Archita Fritz.

Meha  0:34 

We're your hosts for The Nine Oh Six, a podcast where we elevate the stories of extraordinary women in our own communities.

In this special episode of The Nine Oh Six, we hear how each of our nine guests on Season One, define success. Andrea Bauman, an ER doctor in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and mom to a two year old shares her perspective.

Andrea  1:01 

I think success is really a fluid thing. At any moment in any different point in our lives. I think I would define success as being able to be happy with me happy with who I am happy with the way my life is going. But I think it's dynamic. At this point today, do I feel like I have some degree of success? I would say yes; I would say I'm very happy with where I'm at in my career. I'm happy where I'm at with my family. And I think success is being able to wake up in the morning and feel happy about who you are and happy about the life that you're living. And it doesn't necessarily mean being perfect or doesn't at all mean being perfect at any one of those. But being able to feel good about who you are and what you're doing. I think that's the only way I could define it.

Archita  1:57 

Andrea reflected on starting off the day with happiness. Trisha Oreta, an international banker, based in New York City, shares how she ends the day with self reflection on success.

Trisha  2:11 

For me, success is back to the basics. Just being able tuck yourself into bed at the end of the day and say to yourself, I live life the way I should. At the end of today, I am a functioning citizen. I did what I set out to do, or maybe I didn't and that's okay, but I live life according to my values. I have no regrets and I don't think I have a single regret in my life honestly. As long as you can tuck yourself into bed at night and be completely at peace with what you've done so far in your life and in that day, that's a successful day. You can always find reasons to think you're unsuccessful. I certainly have found reasons to criticize myself and things of that nature, but I think that being at peace with yourself is the most important thing.

Meha  3:07 

Nes Reign, a musician, podcaster, and author takes a philosophical approach to her artwork.

Nes 3:13

Success. I know the typical thing is making money being known and all of that. That cool, who doesn't want to have money but for me, if I can say to myself, I feel good with what I put out there, and it's received the way I want it to be received. That's for me success in that sense.

Meha 3:48

Kristie Savage, a data scientist and advocate for women in STEM, reflects on the how between achieving success.

Kristie  3:46 

My mindset is always, again, to be driven and to surround myself by the best people, but there's 100 different ways that you can do it. So you got to do the one that fits best for you. I know we spoke a lot about work and a little about some extracurricular activities that basically are still work. But you have to have work life balance, and you have to be happy all the hours of the week, not just 40 of them. So I think that's all I ever try to do.

Meha  4:15 

Tina Marchand, the owner and founder of an online party boutique, shares how to feel successful as an entrepreneur.

Tina  4:22 

If you have a great idea that you're willing to live and breathe it and put in long hours, that you run with it. Because if you're always going to think, oh, maybe one day I could do that, then you certainly are going to miss your chance. You're going to let life pass you by if you don't grasp it and run with it. If it's something that you think, Oh, that's a good idea, because I can make a lot of money off of it. That's different. You really have to live and breathe it. It has to run through your blood before you could gain success with it.

Archita  5:02 

While other women may describe success through their kids, Elsbeth Hurry, a former corporate executive, and a transformational coach, as a mom of two, this is her perspective.

Elsbeth 5:15 

For me, success is really enjoying all the aspects of my of my life, and knowing that my kids are doing the same. And I want to instill a sense of curiosity and adventure in my kids as well. And I want them to be able to shoot for whatever they want. You know, I feel like I grew up in a situation where conditions dictated a lot of what I thought I should do. And it led me down a path that I loved, and that I think I was pretty good at. I'm not disappointed with that, but I want them to open their minds a little bit more to their imagination and get a little more creative. So success for me is really just loving this journey and feeling like I'm helping others and I'm making a difference and making sure that my kids can shoot for whatever they want.

Archita  6:09 

Ashlesha Tawde, a major in the Indian Army acknowledges that the definition of success can be different for all of us.

Ashlesha  6:19 

Everyone's definition of success has to be different. It's not the outcome of any competition with anyone else. It's how far you have reached in your life and the goals that you've set. How true you have remained, how true you have been to what goals you had thought of. And that I think is somewhere it defines success for you. Success for you as a person and it is very, very personal to you. I mean, it can't be defined by any other outside parameters. It can't be materials, it can't be the number of cars that you have, or the biggest house or how much you earn. As long as you are, you're happy and you're satisfied with where you have reached with genuine input. And in your life, the goal that you have set for yourself, I think that is success.

Archita  7:30 

Courtney Boehrer, a corporate executive, and a health coach continues this discussion on how success can be really tied to goals.

Courtney  7:41 

Success is a combination of things for me. Success is happiness. And I didn't used to say that, I've learned that throughout my career. Combine that happiness with achieving the goals that you've set out to achieve, that's success. Happiness and achieving the goals. Not just achieving the goals, because if you achieve goals and you're miserable, or they don't give you a feeling of satisfaction, then to me the success is not a success. It's not worth it at all. But to me, that's what success is. And you have to define those goals as well. I have to and continue to define the goals of what success looks like. I have a clearer picture now in regards to what success looks like. I've had those goals throughout my entire career and that's what I can aim for. But it comes along with happiness too.

Meha  8:35 

Courtney and many other women describe success as achieving happiness. Priyanka Lugani, founder of a plant based food brand, has a whole different take on this and describes success more deeply without using the word happiness.

Priyanka  8:50 

Well, okay, what is my definition of success? I think it would be an inner and outer joy. I think it's  abundance. It's joy. And it's contentment, that is success. It's a combination of different things. Yeah, happiness is an emotion. It's fleeting. Whereas joy is a state of being.

Meha  9:20 

In Season One of The Nine Oh Six, we just heard how each of the extraordinary women in our own communities define success on their own terms. We're all on our own journeys. And it's important to reflect on how each of us define success in both our personal and our professional lives.

Archita  9:37 

Thank you all for listening, celebrating these wonderful women, and for supporting The Nine Oh Six podcast.

Meha  9:48 

To learn more about our podcast, check us out at thenineohsix.com. The Nine Oh Six is produced by Meha Chiraya and Archita Fritz. Subscribe to us on your favorite podcast platform to tune in to hear the stories that will elevate and inspire you.