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> 9. Never experiencing true defeat or setback

I don't think this is correct. Bach was seeking a position of court composer (like Handel) and even sent his 6 Brandenburg Concertos to Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt in 1721. He didn't get the position. Brandenburg Concertos are some of his best works and I can't imagine how much top-quality secular music he could have written if he got the position.

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Also, why on earth would this metric be important? Failure is a fact of life; one needs to experience it many, many times on the road to grandmastery. I’m pretty sure Bach had. It makes more sense to cherish than deplore it.

10 of his 20 children and his first wife died. That's enough setback for most of us. He was imprisoned over quitting his appointment, if you want to add some. It really is a weird criterium.

Father and mother of Bach died before he was ten...

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