Summary of course so far

Course Summary

To help with starting my assessment piece I thought it might be valuable to summarize module WBS300. I started to brainstorm what themes and tools have emerged in the course so far and write a bit about what I have gained from each part.

Professional Communications Technology

Web 2.0 technologies- tools to help our professional communication
- Blogging
- You Tube
- Flicker
- Wiki
- LinkedIn
- Facebook

Here I was introduced to a number of new tools that has expanded my knowledge of Web 2.0 technologies. I learned how to blog, something I had never done before as a useful way to share thoughts and ideas. You Tube was a tool I was familiar with using for showreels and it is a great way of sharing visual auditory information. Flicker was another new tool for photo sharing that I have starting accessing. After uploading my professional images I have used it a couple of times in applying for jobs by adding the link to my email cover letter. I feel using YouTube and Flicker is a great way of instantly showing an employer your skills. I was also introduced to LinkedIn by Stacy Wilson as a networking tool for other professionals. I find I like using this more so than facebook as it seems much more professional. This part of the course also influenced me to set up my own professional facebook account, which I am very happy I did. I now feel comfortable in accepting my agents, past teachers and employers on my professional profile knowing it is separate from my personal information.
An important aspect raised in this part of the course was that personal professional management is key in having a successful career. Self management of our careers and the way in which we act on the World Wide Web can have a profound influence in the directions our careers may go. I have found the impact the web can have on people’s lives whether through remixing (see my blog "Remix thoughts in response to Paula's blog") or through social networks (see my blog "Social Networks in the press") can change people’s lives.

Reflective Practices
- Being a reflective practitioner
- Journal Writing
- Theories from other thinkers

This part of the course introduced me to thinking about my professional practice in a critical way looking at why some things happen and to learn from these experiences. I have looked outwards at what other thinkers have said and tried and tested these ideas in my practice. My reflective journal has played an important part in not only keeping a log of what I have been up to but a way of recording thoughts and feelings at that time. I realize that before I started this many things have happened that I would normally brush away and forget about but I have the chance to look back over a particular day and think about what I can learn. It is interesting to look back and question why I felt like that and what I would change if I were to be in that situation next time. I found that I could relate to some of the theories in my practice such as Howard Gardner’s (1983) multiple intelligences theory and Donald Schon’s thinking in and on action. From David Kolb’s learning cycle I found myself to be a diverger (likes to observe before doing) and created my own cycle for my dance practice. I struggled with this theory in that in different circumstances I can enter Kolb’s cycle at different points and it can be dependent on the situation I am in. I experimented with the theory however, trying to come in at say active experimentation and trying the move out but I found reflective observation to be of most value to me.
In an online test I found my learning style and to no surprise discovered I am a kineasthetic learner. This clarified what I knew before but helped me to identify my weaknesses and strengths and ways in which I can improve. For example, I find it hard to sit still for long periods of time therefore if I take frequent breaks or workout before I start work I will perform much better.

The Networked Professional
Here I came across some new theories that I researched further and related them to my current professional practice:
- Cooperation
- Affiliation
- Social Constructionism
- Connectivism
- Communities of Practice

I found this part of the course the most informative and relevant to where I currently am in my career. Here we looked at our current networks and drew a map of what they might look like. In the campus session the idea of a tube map and nodes came about as ways to think of our networks. You can jump off at anytime have a change in route and connect with new nodes to make a larger network.  Initially I felt I had quite a large network but when I looked closely I realized some of them I had not been in contact with for so long.

Ivan Misner pointed out “it is how well you know them (contacts) that really counts" (Ivan Misner, June 2010), which made me get back in contact with people I hadn’t spoke to in a while. Wha is the point in having over 1,000 friends on Facebook when you only talk to 10 of them on a regular basis?

Affiliation has been proven to be an important aspect of networking through the current contract I am in. I have seen someone who has not affiliated with the group and therefore has dramatically reduced her chances of improving her network and being given information from other girls.

 I have had a different outlook to the way in which I now conduct myself. For example I have really realized the importance of making new contacts and keeping in touch. I have reconnected with people I have not been in contact with for a while to keep my current networks active. Staying active in communities of practice is how you get the most out of it. By being pro-active you can learn so much more. This is important for the rest of this course. The only way I will get the most out of it is by actively participating in blogging thoughts and sharing ideas.

Holland

Hello everyone! Just wanted to say I have arrived in Holland. We started rehearsals today around 9am with the CanCan! Great way to start your day! We managed to get through 3 numbers and have had a costume fitting as well. We are staying in Hengelo, about 2 hrs on the train from Amsterdam. The hotel is really nice, good area around with shops, places to eat etc. I will be keeping an in depth journal here. Already on my first day there are so many things to write about I am a bit lost where to start.

Interesting conversations with other dancers have already emerged, which I will eventually blog about. One of which raised the subject of the fact that dancers do not really have a voice- we go through the dance captain or choreographer to get heard. It was interesting as it was something I was going to inquire about.

There is a mixture of girls who have worked for a long time with new girls just starting out in the cast. It is funny how people have made connections with eachother as well. For example, one girl is the sister of a dancer I worked with on a promotion and she is about to work with Belinda King in January so we have had a lot to talk about. It has been funny to see how the newer girls in the industry are looking up to people such as myself for advice and they have reminded me of myself starting out- nervous, naieve, young, unsure.

Anyway, it has been a long couple of days. I will start blogging about everything later in the week as well as start my assesment piece too!!

3b Social Constructionism

Social Constructionism

Social contructionism is the idea that we as humans construct the reality we live in. Therefore magazines, money, passports etc would all be classed as items we have socially constructed. They would not have existed unless we made them and they could have been made different if we had wanted. But social constructionism doesnt just apply to objects. It also applies to our beliefs, for example marriage. The society and culture we live in have constructed the meaning behind it and what it includes and doesn't include. 

In educational terms the constructivism theories, such as Jean Piaget (1980), argues that students are already learning in everyday experiences and that teachers should enhance this. "For example, children learn to speak, learn the intuitive geometry needed to get around in space, and learn enough of logic and rhetoric's to get around parents--all this without being "taught." (Papert, 1980, p. 7). Constructivism suggests learning is built by the student and not given by the teacher. Constructionism takes this idea further looking into how this can occur through being engaged in something i.e. a  social network. It is not to suggest that teachers instructing is bad, but just looks at other ways learning can occur.

In a social setting then constructionism places emphasis on the interaction with others. When we are born our expressions and learning how to speak is the first way we communicate. What constructionism does is argues that coming together with others in a constructive way can help in our development and in doing so that network or social setting will be enhanced by our engagement in it. But if these constructions (or networks) and relationships are the key to development, then what if there is limited or bad information in that network? What would the effects then be to us?

                  "Networks are large social constructions" (The Networked Professional, 2010)

As we know our networks are ever changing and developing. It is an evolving construction that we have made. The way in which we interact in these networks will determine how beneficial they will be to us and how they turn out. If we engage fully we will be able to come to meanings about our professional practice. Through sharing ideas, blogging and keeping the BAPP network full of strong information, thoughts and ideas we will develop as professional practitioners. Through face-to-face meetings, social networking sites and generally being seen and heard to others in the business we will not only be able to expand our networks but our professional careers.

New Blogs to follow...!

Hi Guys!

I have just been on the LibGuides page and realised there are so many new blogs and people on the course now. I have just been through and added about 10 people I was not following- I will get round to commenting on your blogs soon! Also I have noticed I only have 23 followers and there are about 50 of us on the course. Not sure how to get the word out to them, but add me! As mentioned in my recent blog on Communities of practice this course relies on everyone taking part and learning from each other!

3b Communities of Practice

Communities of Practice

"Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly". (Wenger circa 2007)

Communities of practice have been around since the start of people storytelling to eachother.This term was developed by social scientists Jean Lave and Etienne Wegner (1991) as learning through interracting with a group of people who all share the same passion for what they do. It is about building relationships with other people in order to learn from it. You have to be proactive in interracting which takes time- it involves practice, actually doing. Sharing experineces, stories and ways to improve practice with another dancer on a regular basis might seem not very important, but through engaging with others in this way can actually be become valuable learning. For example I have learnt from my friend's experience as mentioned in my previous blog, Critical Reflection on sources of information, about how important it is to search a company before auditioning.

Lave and Wegner' communities of practice theory has developed over the years to a new concept in higher education and also in organisational development.  Our participation in this BAPP degree is one of a community of practice as we are all learning through blogging, sharing ideas and debating them with eachother. What this idea does is questions the thought that learning has a beginning and an end and argues that is can come from everyday life- things we observe, hear, see or read about. This is something I feel Adesola was getting at with her comment on my blog 2d Inquiry.

Eduard C Lindeman (1985-1953) argued that learning is a part of daily living. When I thought about this idea I realsied it is something we have been doing from our childhool school days. Interracting with other students at school, sharing experineces and stories was all a way of understanding the world we live in and learning at the same time. But 'situated learning' (Lave and Wagner) is not the same as 'learning by doing' (John Dewey Experiential Education).  In higher education we need to reflect on our practice in order to learn from it.

I feel that in my professional practice I have not only learnt from social situations but they also can have a big impact on my career. When joining a new company for example I rely in the knowledge of others who have been there for years to find out more about the company and what might be instore for me. But as Lave and Wegner point out the danger is that information can be generalized, wrong or unrealated to professional practice. For a community of practice to be of use people must particpate fully.



"Engagement is taking part - joining in - it is keeping a high energy level - it is being seen and developing your professional presence - it is about recognising the processes through which you can learn in the workplace." (Paula Nottingham Blog on Updating blogs and engagement, 2010)

All must participate to the full in order for everyone to gain benefit.

        Learning is in the relationships between people. As McDermott (in Murphy 1999:17)

I found this quote interesting as I had never thought of learning in this way before. For me, learning was information passed on from say teacher to student and they have learnt something. This however raises the idea that through say a conversation learning can take place. The way we are blogging ideas and commenting on people's blogs is a way of learning in itself rather than being told something.
To summarize, communities of practice can come in all sizes and forms. Some can be really small, some large, some mainly online, some face-to-face. After doing further reaserch on this I have reaslied how important it is to engage fully in our professional practice communities and be pro-active. It has challenged the way I think about learning and that everyday things- a conversation with a friends, reading an article, watching TV can all be relevant to our professional development and learning. I think this is where the journal writing comes in too. Everyday experiences may not seem relevant at the time but when you look back and reflect on what you have written you might find you learn a lot.

References:
http://www.infed.org/biblio/communities_of_practice.htm
Lindeman, E - http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-lind.htm
Intelligence Reframed. Multiple intelligences for the 21st century, New York: Basic Books.

Gardner, H. (1993)

A Day In The Life: Romany Pajdak, Royal Ballet dancer

After Paula's blog on the article from the Daily Telegraph, I recently came across this article from The London Theatre where Romany Pajdak (First Artist) talks about her life in The Royal Ballet and her future career prospects. It reiterates on the other article about just how gruelling the life of a ballet dancer is. There schedule is so tough and for really little money. They do not have much of a social life even when on holiday! Then all the sudden your career is over at around 35 and you have to find something else to do.

You can read this at: Official London Theatre

3c Critical Reflection on sources of information

I started this task by looking back at the diagram I drew at the start of the last campus session. This showed me all my current professional networks. When looking at the things listed I realised how much of them were Web 2.0 related for example email, facebook, job sites etc. Below I have listed my top 5 sources and reflected on how important they are to me.

Agent
I have listed my agents as number one on my list as they helped to kick start my career. Graduating from Elmhurst in 2005 I had little performing experience on my CV. Competition was tough at auditions and I was cut from many due to lack of professional experience.  I luckily got accepted onto two agencies shortly after graduating and landed my first contract on MSC Cruises through one of them. This helped to start my dance career putting a professional contract on my CV. Being on these agencies has helped me to attend private auditions that I would otherwise not be able to find and as many of you know is such a great change from open auditions. They have also been there for me when there are not many auditions around and I need work. One agent got me a private audition with Belinda King Productions, where I gained a 4 month world cruise contract on Cunard, one of my best contracts.
The downside to agencies is the 10% fee that they take from your wages. Although a pain I don't mind paying this as they get you the audition, sort the contract out and if anything goes wrong you have them to take care of things. I like that level of comfort you have when you are working through an agent as they can sort any issues out and you feel like you are being taken care of. Especially when first starting out it was great to have this as I had never received a contract before and didn't know what to look for. I also have a good relationships with my agents to where I can have a friendly chat whilst on a contract to let them know how things are going. Its good to feel someone is looking out for you. Ross Dunning points out in his blog that without his agent he would feel like being back at square one again. I agree that with an agent you feel like you are a step ahead of everyone else as you can go to a closed audition for example. But this can have its downside too. Ross mentions that he feels he has little chance of getting work in an open audition but at a closed audition competition is higher. I know friends that sometimes prefer open auditions as they feel they can stand out more amongst people that are not too good rather than closed where everyone there is good.
To summarize my agents have kick started my career putting work experience on my CV, they have landed me closed auditions, informed me of ones I would have never of found otherwise and been there in times when I need work.

The Stage
Over my 5 years of professional dance employment The Stage Magazine has played a huge role in my source of auditions going on. Early on in my career I would buy The Stage Magazine, search auditions and attend them. This was my main way of finding out audition information and to keep up with what was going on in the industry. It was through The Stage that I auditioned for Spirit of the Dance Productions and got a year contract in America where I met my fiance and ended up staying for a further two years of work! I think for any dancer The Stage is an important source of information but I feel over the years I have used it less and less. One reason could be because my networks have expanded, but I feel there are less audition adverts now than there were when I started out. I used to be able to look in the magazine and see around three auditions I could attend but now I only see about 1 a month I would go to.
The Stage does has a downside too. A friend of mine travelled all the way to London for an audition for a contract in Germany. She got offered a contract for 2 weeks over the Christmas period. She signed a contract and sent it back and was waiting and waiting on flight details. A few months later she got a call saying the contract was cancelled. Now she also teaches dance so luckily could just carry on with that but there would have been some girls out there who may have stopped going to other auditions or turned contracts down because of this. Of course it is not so much The Stage's fault and the morale is to search these companies before going. But it does show you have to research where these adverts are coming from.
In conclusion, The Stage has helped me gain employment with StageWorks Worldwide Productions, Spirit of the Dance and other contracts that I ended up not taking.

Web 2.0 Technologies
You would think this was a given ad at the top of the list, however I was a bit late in getting to grips with the web, purchasing my first laptop on contract in the USA in 2007! I recall being so excited at having unlimited access to the net , not having to borrow a computer from anyone or go to an Internet cafe.  Although computer literate it was not until I had my own laptop that I was able to take advantage of the web to help advance my professional career further. Since having my own laptop the use of web 2.0 has impacted my career dramatically.
- E-mail
when I first got my laptop I decided to set up another email for agents only. I now have three- hotmail, yahoo and gmail. The web has allowed me to gain employment in the USA for example when I was waiting for my visa to process I was in constant contact through email with my employer. In times of unemployment I probably send out at least 2 emails a day to possible employers with my CV and head shot. For promotional work I use email for contact on a daily basis- to apply for the job, to receive the details and to report feedback. without these email accounts I would not have had access to this type of work.
- Social Networking Sites
when I first bought my laptop Myspace was the place to be in the USA. About 6 months later I was introduced to the world of Facebook, which soon took over and a year later I deleted my Myspace account. Very soon after joining I was requested by previous dancer friends, choreographers, directors and managers. I accepted not really knowing the implications of facebook. It was not until it became very popular about a years ago that I realised promotional companies were making pages and if you joined would send you updates. The same with dance agencies and audition pages. I have had a few jobs through the use of facebook and I have used it to contact people regarding contracts. Now a huge worldwide phenomenon and constantly having bad press it was starting this course that made me set up a professional account. I now have switched all my agents, choreographers etc to this account where I can manage a bit better what they view.
- Job Sites
I now use The Stage Online, Dancers Pro, EntsWeb and Dance Europe Magazine to keep up-to-date with whats going on in the arts and for audition notices. Stacey Wilson has made me get back in touch with the world of Linkin as she mentions how good it can be for networking with people in the business. I am slowly improving on using this site and getting to grips with it. I feel this is a way I can improve my network even more.

Friends in the business
My network of friends in the business has slowly built up over time. This network primarily consists of people I trained with and friends I have met on contracts. However, I also consider past teachers, directors, choreographers and agents as part of this source. Having friends in the same business definitely helps in advancing your career. There are two contracts I only knew about because friends had told me there were auditions- Legends In Concert and Flip5 Live. Also knowing the entertainment manager f the park very well as he was my fiances boss at the time aided me in getting the Dance Captain position. Some would argue that my fiance helped me get it, but it was a known fact that out of the cast I had the most experience.

I recently met up with a friend from Elmhurst who has given me the contact details of an agency her friend is on that supplies dancers to shows like the X-factor etc and she feels I would be suited for that. Although originally she wanted to be a dancer, an ongoing injury has led her to retrain and pursue acting which she is doing very well at. Now I cannot see this kind of help coming from some of my other friends who are doing the same as me. There is an element of competitiveness unfortunately and when you are after the same type of jobs certain friends may hold back information.

I have relied on talking to people in the business for many things. They often can affect the way I might think or act in my professional practice. For example if I have not heard much about a particular company before I might ask for other people's opinions and if they give me negative feedback that might affect me auditioning for the company. I often use my network of friends as a support system  to discuss how tough it is and its good to feel like you. Joanna Adeyinka talks in her blog about how she has set up an 'industry hangout' where people in the business can come together and share thoughts and ideas, which seems to have been a success. I think sometimes with the way technology is going we forget that a simple coffee with a friend int he business can have a lot of benefits- not by necessarily gaining information but for us as humans having the need for affiliation. A facebook message doesn't always cut it. For example, I had a facebook message from a girl I had worked with over 2 years ago asking me for advice and help with US visas. Now for a start we really were not very close and I had not heard from her in over two years! She didn't ask me how I was or congratulate me on my engagement. I felt like I was being used. Although I replied I did not give the best advice I could of. Was that bad of me? I think it goes back to the idea that:

 "It's not who you know, but how well you know them" (Ivan Misner, June, 2010)

She knew me because we had worked in the same place, but we did not know each other or get on very well to where I felt I wanted to give her all my help. I
I feel that friends in the business is an area that I could improve on in my professional practice. I have many business cards from past employers/people I have met that I need o go through. I also have many past friends and colleagues on social networking sites it would be good to touch base with so I am going to try and work on improving this particular source that is of importance to me.

3b Affiliation

Affiliation

The need for affiliation gives a person a sense of belonging within a social group. Studies have show that affiliation with others has health benefits such as reducing stress. But why do we need to affiliate? I think it goes right back to the very beginning of time, when God put Adam on the Earth:

"Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone;

I will make him a helper fit for him." (Genesis chap 2 vs 18-19)

The animals were not enough companionship for Adam so God made Eve. He could have left him alone but he wanted him to have a companion and one that could reproduce. But why was it not good for him to be alone?

As Crisp and Turner found "adolescents spend about 75% of their waking time with other people" (Crisp & Turner, 2007 pp266-268). Research has shown the benefits of being around others. It can relive stress, give us support,  improve our social skills needed for everyday life and leave us with a sense of happiness and satisfaction.

American psychological theorist David McClelland popularized the idea of our need for affiliation. In his book The Achieving Society (1961) he created a needs-based motivational model describing 3 types of characteristics. Some people might posses a mix of these and other may steer towards a certain type. He research was mainly into achievement motivated people and he believed that these types of people are generally the ones who get things done and are goal orientated. His three types were:

N-arch- the need for achievement
These types of people are 'achievement motivated' with the need to succeed in the goals set to them. They like to feel a sense of accomplishment.
N- power- the need for authority and power
These people are 'authority motivated' enjoying the power of leading. They have a need to lead and like to be in charge.
N-affil- the need for affiliation
These people are 'affiliation motivated' having a need to be around people and like to be popular in social situations.

People motivated by achievement and those motivated by the need to affiliate seem to be very opposite in character. People that are motivated by achievement may generally have a low need to affiliate whereas those that are motivated by affiliation may be low on high achievement. Looking at the above I would say I steer more towards n-arch. I love feeling a sense of achievement or accomplishment in tasks set before me. I am a very organised person, a list maker and perfectionist in many ways and like the feeling of tasks well accomplished. I have the n-affil (need for affiliation) sometimes too but this can vary.

Obviously affiliation is more complex than just whether you are one way or the other. The Privacy Regulation Theory (Irwin Altman, 1975) explains why our need for affiliation fluctuates over time- why sometimes we like to be alone and other times around a lot of people. Altman argues that our desired privacy level changes according to cultural differences and different circumstances we experience. The goal of the privacy regulation theory is to achieve our desired level. If we have a small level of privacy but actually want a greater one we will feel lonely just like if we have too much interaction, more than our desired level we will feel annoyed. I can relate to this theory in my professional practice with contracts such as the cruise ships I worked on. Constantly being surrounded by cast members and crew was nice at times but also became annoying. As you share a cabin too it is very easy to feel overwhelmed by people and it was nice to sometimes go up on the deck for a walk or to the gym on my own to get some me time.

The social affiliation model by Shawn O'Connor and Larne Rosenblood again shows us how we regulate our need for affiliation to or desired level at that particular time. In certain situations for example a death in the family we might feel like we need a shoulder to cry on and reach out for help, our desire to affiliate becoming high. If however we feel that being around people at a particular time might increase stress our desire to affiliate with others will be very low and we want to be alone.
There are also biological and cultural differences in people that can explain our individual needs to affiliate.
Johnson and colleagues (1999) conducted brain studies that revealed differences in introverts and extroverts. Rachael Rettner wrote an article in Live Science Brains of Introverts revealed why they prefer being alone(LiveScience, Aug, 2010) where studies revealed that human faces are much more meaningful to extroverts than introverts. Introverts treat people the same way they do say flowers or animals and can therefore take them or leave them a lot easier than extroverts can. I found this really interesting. I would class myself as an extrovert as I am outgoing, enjoy talking and being around a lot of people. I have always been quite sensitive to people in the past and this study may explain why.

I find Geert Hofstede (1980) theories on cultural differences hard to grasp as it seems very generalised on a whole nation. It was also a study done back in the 80's and with times changing might be outdated for this day and age.

To summarize, I feel I have quite a high need for affiliation as I enjoy having a lot of people around when I am at work. I enjoy talking to people and finding out things about them. I like to have the TV on as background noise even if I am not watching it. However I also like to do things on my own and have no problem being alone sometimes. I have established that I am a person quite high on the need for achievement and I like to associate myself with like-minded people. The trouble I find with these theories is that each of them are subject to human nature and individualism. Each person differs in their own way making it hard to generalize. I think we all have the need for achievement and affiliation as it is in our nature as human beings and you can be high on both not just one or the other. It is also subject to circumstances as we all behave differently depending on what is going on around us. You might be surprised how someone might act in a situation of desperation when they act differently at other times. What I found through looking into affiliation and achievement was a that at first glance I thought they were different from each other, but I now see they can be both related.

Success in response to Emma Burkett

"Self trust is the first secret of success,the belief that is you are here the authorities of the universe put you here, and for cause, or with some task strictly appointed you in constitution, and so long as you work as that you are well and successful"

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882), U.S. essayist, poet, philosopher. "Success," Society and Solitude (1870)

I found Emma's blog on success food for thought. As I
was not there on the induction day I was unaware that this
question was raised by Alan. I agree with Emma that each
person will define success very differently as each of us have
different things that motivate us. I do not think there is any right or wrong in defining success. Some of us might be motivated by financial success, some by making a big impact on others, some by relationship or emotional success. Everyone has their own individual idea of what success is. To find this out we might look at the following:
- What are your values in life?
- What are your goals and ambitions?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- What is most important to you?

To me success in my career is managing to stay employed, which as a dancer is very hard. I feel that I am successful when I land a contract for the next week, month, year. When I am out of work I am constantly auditioning and striving to achieve the next contract (the next success). I could view myself as unsuccessful in the sense that when I was younger I wanted to be a ballet dancer. However I feel as you grow up your goals and ambitions change. As Emma points out "success is what you believe you are capable of achieving" (Emma Burkett, BAPP Blog, 2010). I always wanted to dance professionally and I have been blessed to do that. My goal may have changed from "ballet dancer" to "dancer" but to me I have been successful in a dance career over the past 5 years.
Now success in my future career would be to keep dancing for a long as possible and to go as far as I can with it. There are still some shows I would love to dance in and companies I would like to audition for. I was to obtain my Degree in Dance and then make a switch into a managerial role or something still within the theatre/performing arts.
Then there is also personal success. What is really important to me aside from my career is family and to be married and have children. I am getting married next year to the man of my dreams so I feel huge success in that sense. I may have to adjust my career definition of success as family comes first. As Ralph Waldo Emerson points out "self trust is the first secret to success". I think you have to believe in yourself, be confident and go out there and try to reach your goals.
Success is a journey as as Emma points out some experiences we may view as bad will help build another. As different points in your life your definition of success will change.

What is your definition of success?