Ask HN: What does being successful mean to you?

Being able to spend the maximum time possible with the ones I love.

This means optimizing my work time so that I make as much as possible, in as little time as possible, and then get back to spending time with my loved ones.

The time horizon is a little tricky: if you optimize for the next 30 days, then you could just quit your job, and spend those 30 days with your loved ones. You might be in a world of hurt after those 30 days, though.

If you optimize for your entire life, you might be tempted to work your tail off for a dozen years, hoping that you can squirrel away enough capital quickly to let you retire altogether with financial security. However, things happen over time - both to you and to your loved ones - and you need to enjoy the time with them while you're all still able to do the things you enjoy. (I've had members of my family become suddenly unable to travel or even leave the house.)

Being generally happy with my life -- whether it be over the course of the day, week, year, etc. Is the work I do meaningful / helpful? Can I spend time with the people I want to spend time with? Can I do the things I want to do?

As long as the answers to those things are positive, or are trending positive, things are good.