In my own experience, when I hire a new musician for my group, I would rather hire one who may be a little less talented, but who has great work habits, rather than one who is extremely talented, but is lazy. The millennium has arrived. We like to think that we are wiser now that we have entered the 21st century. We are not. We have advanced in every science and field of knowledge, but we are no wiser.
Society still has a knack for judging one's worth only in material terms.
It's a story that is as old as time itself. Success and wealth don't necessarily go hand in hand. I have known many who have had one without the other. In fact, if you see yourself as successful, regardless of what you have acquired materially, then you have gotten the best that this life can offer you. As this new century proceeds, we need educated people who speak out, but more importantly, we need educated people who will reach out.