[pcvarmint]

My drive was intrinsic, not extrensic. I could have cared less about my parents' and teachers' approval. I did it because of interest in the subject.

Full disclosure: At age 40, I was officially diagnosed with Asperger's. So my case may not be normal.

And by mentioning those "accomplishments", I am not intending to brag. To those like us, the predictability and order of math/CS way more than offsets any difficulty in learning it. And I had problems in English too. History too. Political science was easier, since it was framed in discrete terms (left/right), although personally I am an independent small-l libertarian.

It depends on a large degree of luck, to land where you do. Not everyone in my position will land the jobs I did, due to chance luck. But it is not totally due to luck -- developing connections and establishing a reputation is important.

I wish you the best.