First, I was absolutely clear that I was NOT talking about material or wordly success. What I meant [and I may have done a horrible job of explaining it] is that Christians trust to God to deliver them and are not [or at least should not be] overwhelmed by adverse circumstances. The example of Paul is that here is someone who is on death row. But Paul does not whine about being a victim, nor rail about how corrupt Rome is, nor does he seem to spend much effort on complicated legal maneouvering. My point about Paul is that even in these bad situations, he still acts for the good of the early Church, he still seems happy [and does write of his joy in God]. My point is that instead of taking the attitude of "I've been arrested, I'm a victim, I'm helpless and can't do anything," Paul took the attitude of "I'm looking forward to heaven and I find joy through God; I will continue to profess Christianity and influence the early Church. As far as success goes, I'm sure a great many more people will agree that Paul had a larger influence on history than, say, the particular centurian who arrested him. Which was more successfull?
Just to preempt another argument, this last part answered the question "Say, was John the Baptist a success" and isn't intended to say that all Christians will be just as famous thousands of years later.