<p>well whenever i think school is too easy i just dream about steak and chinese food..</p>
<p>@OP: Read the book "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. If your question is any hint at what interests you, you will love this book. It explains the backgrounds behind people with different types of success, whether it be intellectual, financial, athletic, etc. It's a great book.</p>
<p>^Wow, I was just going to talk about that. 10,000 hours of practice at anything and your an expert.</p>
<p>Obsession and asceticism.. talent helps too</p>
<p>upper middle class white children with self-made parents from a lower class background. and being the middle child in a family of 3 helps too.</p>
<p>Hard work+studying helps, but talent will always triumph over all of that [well developed talent, that is]. Starting early in some subject [music, athletics] is good too, but I guess we can't do that now.</p>
<p>And what blueducky said about obsession.</p>
<p>cheeba cheeba y'all</p>
<p>Focus, drive, discipline and determination--these are all hallmarks of success. Keep on keepin' on, as they say. I know people who lack incredible raw talent who are just so driven that they will do anything it takes.</p>
<p>Steroids + autopilot occasionalism, “pursuits one’s unconscious tendencies gravitates towards most” ~pawnz ov lyfe~</p>
<p>Personal drive.</p>
<p>That’s what motivates people to go on working hard, building the blocks of a successful career, and makes them persevere long after they’ve left home. Pushy parents will only get kids so far - when a student becomes too dependent on other people, they tend to do worse than average when those people aren’t around.</p>
<p>Don’t call it unusual just because you lack the drive.</p>
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<p>This. Also it’s no different than sports…those who have the talent as well as the work ethic will go the furthest…</p>
<p>I would say connections + intelligent parents who know what to do for their kids plays a key in the kid’s future success…</p>
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<p>I don’t know how true this is, my parents don’t know a thing about college admissions, nor do I have any connections. And I’ve still achieved some of the smaller “unusual” feats described by the OP. I think it all comes down to hard work and motivation in the end.</p>
<p>Passion 10 char.</p>
<p>I have one of the really minor things on the list and I think it’s just about doing what you know you can. And “knowing” that you can do more than you are actually capable of doing, lol. Just believe too much in yourself. It really is belief, not arrogance.</p>
<p>Maybe mania helps too. The first time I forgot my homework, I became ill, had a fever, and had to be sent home. 2100 SAT score = failure if it’s mine, but fine if it’s other people’s.</p>
<p>I guess I would somewhat fall in the first group (yet to make IMO though)
and the second group.
I read through the entire thread and not one person mentioned FUN. Doing math is fun. Combined with a great work ethic, ambitious goals, natural talent, and the ability to find fun and a passion in what one is doing, one can achieve anything. I’d say natural talent factors in the least.</p>
<p>As to being extremely well-rounded, one also needs a great work ethic, time-management skills, and a constant thirst for knowledge and involvement that can only be satisfied by diverse interests.</p>
<p>It’s just hard work, nothing more.</p>
<p>Perseverance…</p>
<p>That’s all I have to say.</p>
<p>My first SAT had an essay that asked this question. =P</p>
<p>connections + intelligent parents will get you somewhere, but you as a kid with that + motivation will achieve tremendous amounts of success. It’s like the analogy of the incredibly talented kid who is extremely great at sports, except one has a recruiter for a relative and the other lives in a slum in, let’s say, burma. Who’s gonna succeed?</p>
<p>^^op is that what you consider unusual levels of success lol. i thought you meant real life success.</p>
<p>there is a book on this it’s called Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.</p>
<p>read it</p>