I'm not sure that I ever did want to 'make it'. I always thought that Rory Gallagher achieved the level of success that I would have liked. Successful but largely unknown.
I'm perfectly happy with the level of 'success' I've had, but the arrival of my first child made me aware that a regular income was my priority. Touring wasn't very lucrative and there was no royalty income for me either. That said, at 65, I'm still gigging regularly and also tour regularly with artists from the US, fitting it in with annual leave. I did a lot of work in Europe but haven't for a couple of years. Hopefully, there's a 3 week tour in Europe in January/February.
I seem to garner a nice level of respect from people I respect and that has always been more important to me, I think. In some ways, getting the endorsement deal with Mesa is a form of 'making it', if it's a reflection of that respect (and I'm happy to think so!!). I'm not famous but I'm fine with that. I'm way too shy to have been able to cope with that anyway.