Ray,

In the time you were in that society, did you grow some stunning roses of your own? Did you bring some beauty to your area, and reflect well on your efforts? To me that would be a definition of "making it."

I think we all have to do that, especially in creative endeavors like songwriting. Bringing life to something magical that touches people's lives to me, is making it. Hearing something come to life from nothing,is a form of making it. Staying viable when many other's quit, to me is "making it."

And yes, the general public are the final arbiters of "making it." But sometimes just getting the product to them in the first place is an acheivement that should never be overlooked.

MAB