I don't ever think of my life as particularly successful but after dropping out of college my freshman year, due to a whole host of issues, probably rooted in bipolarism, depression, social anxiety, ADD, you name it-I spent 12 years at sea and eventually got a captain's license. I don't think I had the mental discipline to do something like this before then or I would have done so. Tried to return to school twice and failed. College isn't for everyone after all. But I did finally get some classes I needed and spent several months in intensive study mode (thanks to my mom). When I started to study celestial navigation it was as if I had fallen in love, with stars. And though I don't use those skills any longer, I have a whole storehouse of metaphors to use in my writing. I have struggled the past 5-6 yrs, as detailed in my profile but somehow managed to hold it together, keep my license, keep working and the vehicle that is me is slowly, inexorably pulling out of the long skid that is bipolarism. Success to me is measured one day at a time. Be tortoise-like and you will ultimately find your own measure of success.