[wtn]

His family was enabling his narcissism.

[jedc]

Having actually known John in real life, I disagree with your description of him as a narcissist.

[samtp]

Someone doesn't have to be a complete narcissist to occasionally behave in a narcissistic manner. Hell, we all act narcissistically from time to time (some would even say all the time).

[CamperBob]

His family made a lot of money on that same narcissism, and derived a lot of security from it.

Conversely, someone who can be talked out of climbing a mountain can also be talked into keeping his day job, and probably will be.