We live in a world where success is defined by stature and achievements. The more money you have, the higher you’re valued. The more you’ve accomplished, the more you’ve succeed. By anyone’s standards, Shonda Rhimes is a complete success. She is the queen of modern-day television with an entire night of programming she’s created. She can tell diverse stories which both entertain and prompt change. She’s raising three daughters as a single parent. In her book, Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person
Success is personal. What’s enough for one person may only be the starting ground for another. Shonda Rhimes has no limits and has accomplished feats that most of the world will never know. Despite the whole world knowing her name, and being a household sensation, however, she prefers to remain on the sidelines. As an introvert, she’s always kept to herself. She didn’t do interviews, she didn’t attend parties, and didn’t do speaking engagements. Most of the world might consider that humble, not needing to be in the spotlight. Shonda thought nothing of it until her sister pointed out not only did she constantly say no – she never said yes.
There had always been a benefit to saying no, she avoided having panic attacks in front of the media, and there was nothing new to fear. The irony, however, wasn’t lost on her. She would make her characters tackle and confront their fears every Thursday night, but she chose not to face her own. In 2013, she decided to change that and 2014 became known as the Year of Yes. She challenged herself to say yes to any opportunity, no matter how big or small, or the fear it might bring – and she did. She gave a commencement speech at Dartmouth in front of ten thousand graduates. She appeared live on Jimmy Kimmel. She started taking her health seriously, and confronted relationships that were holding her back. It wasn’t easy at first, but at the end of the year, she no longer had trouble saying yes, and instead found it hard to say no.
Success isn’t always measured in quantity. It doesn’t always matter if you have the most money, the highest number of viewers, or the most shows on a network. Success is overcoming your fears, and not being afraid to fail. It’s taking a leap when there’s a chance you might fall. Success is experiencing the journey and learning new something along the way. Success can mean anything to anyone, and sometimes it may be a success just to say, Yes.
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