As others have said, it all depends on what you define "success" as. Clearly the OP has done things that fulfill him.<p>Although the OP makes no mention of it, when I've talked with friends & family about "success" and all that, following dreams is great. One big thing to keep in mind is that the future is also uncertain. Retirement is the biggest thing that comes to mind. I have many friends who have foregone saving for retirement in order to follow their dreams, no matter how "irrational" that may be (I use quotes because that might not be the right term).<p>20, 30, 40 years down the road, who is going to be paying for retirement? It's great that "you" have memories of doing great things! But the bills have to be paid. Is it going to be your friends, who worked those boring, monotonous jobs? Will their 401k accounts be taxed so that they have to pay for your retirement? Will mine?<p>What about kids? I have family members who did follow their dreams to do whatever it is they want to do, and then start having kids. Without a solid job, boring or not, someone has to pay for the kids. Either it's charity from family, or it's the government via taxes.<p>Anyways, that's some things that I think about when these topics come up.