Dont be fooled by what the community as a whole finds successful, focus on only what it means for you and your loved ones.
I like that! People are always talking about success and looking at successful people as the way they wish to be. As you mentioned in your post, not always are people as successful as they seem to be. Many people are using their credit to get what they want, I woul never do that. This is slippery slope to me. To me success is having happy and healthy family and not to depend on credit. Just having a balanced style of living.
Yeah you need to develop your own idea of success for yourself and go after that, or else youll just be chasing what people consider successful which might not even be fulfilling.