ah success! Since I have made it a point not to read the NMB post I will work independently

There are many kinds of success.  Most involve other people.  Here is my list not in any particular order.

1. public, the mass public
2. among ones peers 
3. critical 
4. d'estime  not quite the same as critical because this one implies that only critics like it.
5. personal
6. artistic
7. financial
8. log rolling, the quid pro quo, agreement  
9. artist of the moment
10. buzz (the art seems less important than the artist). 
11. manufactured, that is paid for
12. private, that is a success within a closed community
13. sympathetic - for example David Healthgot's  sold out concerts
14. political, the ability to attact powerful friends
15. political subject (editorial)- the subject is more important than the art or the artist
16. institutional, gatekeepers, grants etc. the ability to get to the means of production.
17. snobbery (Well, they like it!) 
18. scandal

Of course these types can exist in any combination with different percentages of each included. Still the only success that interests me is artistic.