The Success of A Life Well-Lived

Success is often measured in numbers, titles, and the weight of a bank account. But when I look at my life, my success is measured in something far greater—the depth of love I have built, the joy I have cultivated, and the impact I have made in the lives of those around me. I have built an extraordinary life, one rich with meaning, fulfillment, and a kind of happiness that can never be taken away.

I am successful because I wake up every morning in a home filled with love, shared with the only creatures I ever wanted to mother. My world is warm with the loyalty of the most incredible husky and the mischievous presence of a cat who keeps me on my toes. I am successful because my family—my chosen family and the one I was gifted with at birth—is the kind that stands unwavering, rooted in love, kindness, and a strength that is unshakable. I have two sisters—one by blood, one by heart—who are extraordinary in their own right, who lift me up as I lift them. I have a brother, one I chose, who has been there through every high and low, proving that family is not just about lineage but about devotion. I have surrogate parents who have given me guidance, love, and the kind of support that makes life fuller. And I have the absolute joy of being an aunt to eight incredible souls—five I was granted and three I am lucky enough to be connected to by blood. They are all mine, in the ways that matter most.

My success is in my work—the multiple careers I have nurtured and built with intention, talent, and a relentless work ethic. I have turned words into impact, passion into profession, and vision into reality. It is extraordinary to wake up every day and know that my work is mine, that I have built something remarkable not just for myself, but for the fifteen incredible people I employ. Fifteen lives that I have the privilege of paying exceptionally well—beyond a living wage, beyond just enough, beyond what is expected. I care deeply about my team, about the people who believe in this work as much as I do. It is a privilege to build a business that flourishes, not just for me, but for those who stand beside me in making it thrive.

And perhaps one of the greatest achievements of my life, the one that fills me with the most profound pride, is my charity. A non-profit that is not just an idea, not just a dream, but a reality—a force for good that is breaking ground on a sanctuary next year. To be able to take success and channel it into something that matters, something that changes lives, something that will leave a lasting impact, is beyond anything I could have imagined for myself. This is what success should look like. This is what success feels like.

And at the centre of it all, the heart of everything, is love. The kind of love that stands unwavering, the kind of love that withstands time, challenges, and the shifting tides of life. Almost thirteen years of unwavering devotion, of a partnership built not just on passion but on something even greater—respect, trust, the kind of connection that is so deep it becomes an unbreakable foundation. We built a life together, not by accident, not by chance, but by choice, by effort, by an unspoken promise that is lived every single day. Our wedding anniversary approaches, and I find myself reflecting on the vows we spoke, the ones that were not just words but an unshakable truth that has been proven every day since. I feel that vow in the way he looks at me, in the way he holds my hand, in the way we move through this world as a team, a force, a love that cannot be touched.

There is something so powerful in knowing that I have built a life that is full. That my success is not hollow, not performative, but real, tangible, rooted in love, purpose, and a depth that many will never know. I have created joy. I have built something that no one can take away. I am living proof that success is not just about what you accumulate, but about what you give, what you nurture, what you grow.

And for that, I am endlessly, unapologetically proud.