Family values
I've often said that I don't see the point of earning big bucks if it means you have to work like crazy, spending nights & weekends in the office. Coz you'd have all that money, but no opportunity to enjoy it!
The Devil Wears Prada simply reinforced this conviction. (Incidentally, look out for the Malay title: literally, "The Boss From Hell"! LOL)
I guess it depends on one's personal priorities. To some, career success and ambition is most important at this particular moment; I'll take time to smell the roses once I get there, they say. Others feel that relationships are more important than anything else, so they refuse to work long hours or accept jobs involving too much travel, because it takes them away from their families. Yet others make money a priority, planning to build up a nest egg for the future or for a rainy day.
My parents and aunts & uncles tend to place great priority on family. Mom gave up her job as a high school teacher to be a homemaker and take care of Blink & I. Most of my other aunts -- including one who was a nurse, another who was a doctor and yet another who was in finance (accountant, if I'm not wrong) -- gave up their jobs to be stay-at-home moms too.
Growing up, I really appreciated being able to come home from school to be met at the door by Mom, who would ask me how my morning at school had been. There'd be lunch prepared on the table, and then after I'd had lunch and taken a shower, she would, err, "remind" me to do my homework... *rueful grin*
Dad has been in private practice since I was 7, operating his own clinic. He's never worked nights -- his clinic opened from nine to six; nights were to be spent at home with the family, just like Sundays were family days. He used to take us to the beach every Sunday evening (the beach was about 30 minutes' drive away). We'd swim, then go to a restaurant for dinner, come home pooped, sleep early, and go to school the next morning.
It's said that most values are caught, not taught. I guess that explains why I've never been very focused on wanting to earn more money or rise up to the top of my chosen profession (of course, not knowing what profession I wanted to be in made this difficult too!). Those things simply aren't very important to me. It definitely would be nice to have more money, but ultimately what really matters are the people around me and the relationships I have with them. That's what my parents taught me.