Don't ask how music got into an astronomy course. After that it was just a slow progression into electronics and spending countless hours messing around with what ever I had laying around. My first sampler was a little Casio keyboard. It took a couple of years of doing songs for myself before I ever sent one in anywhere, or even was comfortable enough to let anyone hear them. My first serious steps towards music as a career is with Collide - previously I had just done music purely as an escape.
Success is all in the mind of the individual.
It doesn't necessarily mean that just because you are well known you are successful. A big record company can throw a ton of money behind anyone and get them on the radio and TV, etc. I think we both feel pretty fortunate to have received what attention we have, being on an independent label. I find the media in general a very interesting form of brainwashing and I try not to take it too seriously, artificial success has nothing to do with talent, however I must say any kind of success takes some sort of energy and promotion. Success to me will be when I have the freedom to create exactly what I want without the stress of how to survive.