I could have started a for-profit, venture-backed business that has a good spirit, and I think there are many of them - Google for instance. Maybe I could reach a billion people. That is high impact, but what happens in 50 years?
In my mid 30's, after a decade or so of giving full time to the music thing and finding myself with about $10 in the bank and no assets other than my musical equipment, I realized I needed to get serious about making a living.