But to be fair to the violinist, he wasn't talking about money or even necessarily financial success. He was talking about personal accomplishment and I think that his reply if a fair reminder to people who grow up in a society infused with a magic realism oriented media and a culture of wish-fulfillment.

Virtually all worthwhile things in life require sacrificing other things. In fact, I would go further and say that all significant things (even those that we may not consider worthwhile) require some kind of sacrifice. spending time with your family requires you to sacrifice time spent on achievement or personal accomplishment. Defending your nation typically requires sacrificing time with your family (in many cases this is quite substantial). So on and so on, ...