Foodpump pretty much put it in stright terms...I'm curious what your definition of "success" is.
I know a couple of chefs that have nice houses and wives and cigar hobbies, and I know a chef that lives in a one room bedroom apartment with a cat; and a chef that has quit the restaurant business to carve out something on his own; I know one chef who worked soley for independent joints, then two years ago took a corp. gig...M-F...9-5, 'cause he wanted more time to make his family work. My point is, "successful", is a very broad descriptive. What do YOU mean by "successful"?