I think what you're getting at is that a willingness to sacrifice in order to achieve a goal is essential to achieving that goal. All greatness has a cost, of course. There are literally not enough hours in the day to have a normal life and achieve amazing things.

My feeling on the idea of greatness is that we need to keep things in perspective. There's nothing wrong with a person who doesn't want to risk their family's well being to pursue their dream. We all choose our path based on the cards we're dealt. Some people decide to go all in over and over until they get it right. If you've got a good hand, by all means go for it.