[carapace]

Go read up on the history of the company. Wolfram knew what he wanted very early on and pursued it with relentless focus and drive.

Others have tried to catch up, but they can't match the output of the engine he built to power Mathematica's development.

Frankly, it seems strange to me that he's not considered a folk hero on HN.

[jdironman]

Pursued it with relentless focus and drive

This is what separates successful from struggling.

[carapace]

Nah.

Many relentlessly focused and driven people have failed miserably, and many vague and sluggish people have succeeded beyond all expectation.

Take me, for instance. I waffled along one step ahead of destitution for thirty years and then got an amazing job without trying even slightly. Now, I'm on track to retire before I'm fifty. Everyone who knows me calls me lazy! What have I done? Why me? I just give generously to charity and keep my head down.

I've found a crucial skill for a happy life is to carefully avoid pointless effort.