I'm not certain that rock climbing qualifies as a craft, as you aren't creating anything. Nonetheless, that distinction isn't important, and I certainly do think there is merit in the idea that a starting a business is a good way to earn income in order focus energy on something more important.

However, that isn't the viewpoint that you expressed in your initial comment; it is the opposite ("lounge on the beach, travel the world...")

> Keep in mind, also, that if one begins programming at age six and does it every day for 40 odd years, one tends to achieve mastery of programming as well.

How are you defining mastery? As the ability to make a respectable income with low effort required? That seems a fairly low bar. I'm not entirely sure that programming is best thought of as a craft, but assuming that it is: someone programming every day for 8 hours a day for 40 years would surely have a greater mastery than someone who only does it part-time.