I believe everything in real world is completely different from school.
You may be smart with GPA 4.00 and high degree but it doesn’t guarantee that you will be good in professional life. I think having a goal + a strong social behavior + smartness will highly impact your future professional life rather than only studying hard in school.
Personally, I don't limit success to financial stability alone. However, in our world today if you ask people to mention the ten most successful people in the world, 8 out of 10 will surely list the richest people in the world. It seems like once success is mentioned in our world today, Money pops up in our mind.
As you explained, I believed that there is no success better than raising a beautiful, peaceful and educated family. Finding the right wife who is ready to commit and make that eternal sacrifice, raising the family accordingly, and your struggle to meet up their demand not only financially but also emotionally and then finally watching them grow into amazing people that benefits humanity IS THE GREATEST SUCCESS IN LIFE.