[MrFoof]

>It seems to me people more and more seem to put milestones in their lives "if I don't get to be X by age Y then I have failed"

I agree that people tend to focus more on "when" and not "if".

I've always focused on doing something eventually... and then doing it far better than anyone else, especially those who rush into it and end up with something suboptimal. People always ask, "How did you do/get X?" Well, I was patient. Instead of spending effort/resources on tiny incremental changes, I just kept waiting until I could make the big thing happen, and do it right. Sometimes I have to wait 5 - 10 times as long, but I get what/where I want eventually.