Big break?

Earlier in my art career, I used to believe in the idea of a "big break". I thought that all an artist needs is a one big event, and then they never again have to worry about what art they produce, promoting themselves, sales, etc. (see How to become a famous artist).
I have been watching a lot of movies lately, and I just got the DVDs of my all-time favorite show, Dinner for Five, a talk show about the entertainment industry. I realized this: an artist sometimes gets a "big break" (a job, press, etc.) early in his career. Then the artist must continually keep "snowballing" or working on his career in order to get to a higher level. At any time, the artist can get either "bigger", or slip backwards and become less prominent. For example, even actors that starred in multiple movies slip backwards, and you start seeing them in TV series or even commercials.
So, I realized this applies to my painting career; I'm not going to get some "big break" and be "set for life". Like an actor, I'm going to have to continuously work on my career if I want to be "huge".