What does success mean to you? by Felice Stevens

Success over the years has come to mean different things to me. I've had many personal and professional success over the years but I won't discuss any of them except as how it pertains to publishing. 
What is success? I find it hard in this swiftly changing world to come up with one definitive answer. With the advent of self-publishing, its easier than ever to publish your own book, so many more people who might never have gotten to publish because of gatekeepers and hard-line publishers, can now claim the title of author.
Landing an agent can be a success. Signing a contract? Another success. If that's what you want. Winning contests and awards? It feels great. 
Is success hitting number one on Amazon? Many people would say say yes, definitely. I'm not so sure.  Amazon rankings change on the hour so how much weight does it hold to say you were number one on Amazon? And no, I'm not bashing it at all. I have been there and was as thrilled as the next person to see that orange ribbon next to my book. It never fails to be a Sally Field "You like me. You really like me" moment. But it's so fleeting that for me, personally, I don't see it as a bragging right. NYT and USAT? Definitely. That goes to the tremendous number of actual books sold across many different platforms.
I feel as though I've had some successes. Publishing is a business and I have been successful finding a great team to work with. I couldn't put out my books without the help of the best editors and proofers I feel lucky to work with. I love my cover artist and I will never give her up. I hope she knows she's stuck with me. I've been successful in making friendships in the book community with other authors and readers I know are real. I can count on these people to listen and hold my hand when I need consoling, or when we want to rant a bit about whatever might be bothering us, aside from publishing.
But real success to me? That's pretty easy. It's the email I got from a reader from India who stated she cried when she read I'd written Sikh characters, even though they weren't the main focus, because she'd never seen anyone like her in any gay romance book she'd read. It's the emails and private messages I still get for a book two years after it was written, thanking me for the sensitivity in taking on anxiety and ADHD in one of my books. Or the emails from older gay men who said they wish they'd had my book to read when they were young to see that love for them was possible. If my books have touched one person, if they have made it easier for them to get through a hard day, for whatever the reason, then doing what I do, what I love doing, means I'm a success.
It's nice to win awards and get the accolades but with the hundreds of books flooding the market daily and the millions on Amazon alone, resonating with readers who take the time to let me know my books touched them is my greatest success. 
What's your greatest success?