There are people so depressed that, for them, success is defined as simply being able to get out of bed in the morning and face another day.
There is a homeless man downtown for whom success is cashing in enough cans to be able to buy a small bottle of hooch that evening. And, in the rare but most successful of cases, still have enough change to get a cup of coffee in the morning.
My little girl defines success by being able to convince her parents to give her anything she wants (and she has more success than she reasonably should).
My point being that success is not something that can be objectively measured. How others count it does not matter. It is not linear. There is no recipe. And, in fact, there is no real definition or standard other than that which we define and set for ourselves.
Our days are made up of many minor (and sometimes large) successes and minor (and sometimes large) failures. And each day, each moment in fact, we get a clean slate to start anew. We could choose to celebrate the big victories by barely acknowledging them and the small ones with a full-blown parade. How we define it, how we measure it, and how we celebrate it, is up to us.
Success for me is publishing something that makes your day better, every day. If this connected with you, please consider a free will donation of any amount.