richlind33: Hypothetical:
If you were a once-successful person who found yourself faced with living in destitution and the only way to avoid your fate was to make a Faustian bargain, what would you do?
As a currently-successful person, I have, obviously, asked myself this question before so I already have the answer for you. While I do enjoy certain perks of having more money than average, I am actually comfortable with fairly little. Were I to be sent back to the starting point, I'd find it supremely annoying but not the end of the world. I'd get back on my feet soon enough, and even if I never again achieve quite as much, I know that I can be content with less.
Now, if I was a leader of a group of people who trusted me and followed me, or simply had people who depended on me - that would be an entirely different story. I tend to feel a disproportionate sense of responsibility and am not as picky about the means by which to fulfill that responsibility. Of course, knowing this about myself I avoid placing myself in situations of that type: I don't start businesses and don't have children.
Edit: I gotta say, the idea that working for Microsoft is somehow a "Faustian bargain" make me chuckle. You will be [dis?]pleased to know that I've made that "bargain" before and it worked out pretty well for me. =)