Well, the rappers and basketball players parts I can understand. That’s a result of our society’s warped values. We’ve elevated these aspirations to mythic heights. When you look at the value we place on those with a singing voice or some sort of physical prowess, why wouldn’t someone want to make these his/her ambition. The problem is that the real ambition is for personal wealth. This is the new ambition. Given that, you can see how even the drug-dealer option is based on achieving the same end.
None of these lofty goals require much character, though.
But the problem is that for every rapper, or athlete that gets wealthy, there are thousands that never make it and have no Plan B.