Great question! I've been trying to define the metric by which I measure my success. The salary has been good, as has the ability to mentor and grow my team. I think what I would really love is to have the confidence to build my own thing and be the driver of the car rather than an efficient engine.
Great point. I think partially I'm extra hard on myself because I feel like this was a blown opportunity get kick ass, take names, and become VPE. But instead, I came to the realization that climbing the managerial ladder isn't what I wanted.