Now I don't like the if-you're-not-a-billionaire-then-your-entirely-incomplete subtext of motivation/self-improvement culture, but this man spoke honestly about having a goal to acquire something luxurious for himself, and the work ethic it instilled in his younger self.
I suppose the point is there is a huge different between life goals (even material ones) and retail therapy.
Getting married (as in, finding someone you want to marry and making it happen) is a mission. Perhaps becoming a parent is for many. Striving to be a good parent is definitely a mission.
For a lot of people this is the Standard Life Script, and they never even realise it's only one of many options. Then they get older and suddenly it hits them they've been living their life on autopilot with the sat-nav set to the factory default destination, and that's not where they want to be at all.
> It's rarely said that marriage, kids, job, degree, a house, car, and most physical things are not missions.
No, they are missions. Anyone without them who wants them views each of these as a major milestone in their life. However, like you said, you need to find another mission after completing these.
These things are kind of a like a "life plan starter pack", to give you a framework for what many people view as a set of good missions for your life. But many unhappy people who have these things have failed to continue to pursue missions after attaining them. I think this is why it's easy (but wrong) to say that they "aren't missions".