Creative people tend to set their own goals. Winning Nobel Prizes or revolutionizing a field might not be what they want out of life. A 'boring' day job that supports the family can be the perfect tool to let you spend the rest of your time on hobbies and passions.
I am an underachiever in my career, to be sure. But I have made a lot of art, climbed many mountains, hiked what seems like every trail in Colorado, and learned a few crafts, while also maintaining a marriage and raising a family. I'm happy with my life, no matter what the world thinks of it.
I don't even want anymore for my kids to win Nobel prizes or the equivalent in other fields. If it becomes their passion, sure, I'll support them. But I won't push them to be the absolute best, or wathever it is that tiger parents supposedly are doing to make their kids geniuses or CEOs. I'm pretty sure I don't even want that life for them, as the CEOs and the geniuses I've met either led very stressful lives or were downright assholes (but I'm sure there are many exceptions). I found out, soon after my first one was born (I have two), that all I wish for them is: a happy and meaningful life, health, and that they have a good heart. If they never amount to nothing money/carrer wise, well, so what?
I am an underachiever in my career, to be sure. But I have made a lot of art, climbed many mountains, hiked what seems like every trail in Colorado, and learned a few crafts, while also maintaining a marriage and raising a family. I'm happy with my life, no matter what the world thinks of it.