The proof of your success is found in your daily choice to live by your principles and live on your schedule. Your principles are your values and beliefs, and you choice to follow them may not always get approval from others, but should always get approval from yourself.
Living on your own schedule doesn't mean you don't work at a job. It means you're choosing to live life on your terms, right up to and including how you choose to make a living.
Achieving success involves takes risks to gain what you value. But they should always be calculated risks, ones thought over, and planned out.
Don't compromise what you believe or or how you live your life because of someone else's self-righteous judgment. Your only judge is yourself, and the standards you set yourself.
Taking responsibility for your actions means you choose to change because you recognize the value in changing. Apologizing for a choice isn't enough; You need to follow through and make changes for what you genuinely feel remorse for.