Success can only be gauged on an individual basis. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you can make boat loads of cash playing poker online like others show you they have. Likewise, don't compare yourself to others when it comes to earnings since it has no relevance to your skill. Many good players are very bad in certain games or under certain circumstances.
For example, I began grinding out FR NL2 cash tables back in November of 2011 to no avail. By the end of December I had netted a loss of $1.79 after putting in 3958 hands. That's really bad...I just couldn't beat the game for some reason no matter how hard I tried. This January I decided to bump up a level to 6-max NL4 tables and after just 1029 hands I earned back $14.32 netting me $12.53 in the past couple months. I know that doesn't seem like much money, however I am unable to devote a tonne of time necessary to make a living out of it. If I was able to put in major sessions like many of the players you seem to want to emulate, I could probably build up a fairly nice bankroll if I continued on the same successful path.
My point here is that only you know what type of player you are, and which games you can beat. I enjoy playing 6-max tables more than FR tables simply because I love to get in the action and mix it up quite a bit, and I have fairly good success with it. Pairing my abilities and tendancies with a game that compliments my style of play is what has helped me get back in the green. If you find FR tables are beating you up, maybe put more time in at the books, and play around on different tables to find out where you are more comfortable playing.
By the sounds of your desperate attempts to find out what others are successful playing, I can only assume you havn't found a game you are truely comfortable playing yet. I think taking some time to analyze your own hand history could help you find out what leaks are in your game to adjust, or help you decide which games you might be more successful at. Maybe even a little of both.
Don't get discouraged, and above all, don't try to play like someone else, just play how you are comfortable playing. Good players strive to be like their idols with minimal success, great players have been successful playing like themselves.