I dropped out of Stanford's PhD program, so I'm not a "Dr." 😊 Thanks for your question!

I'm not sure there's a secret sauce, at least for me, TBH. At the highest level, success has three attributes:

• Luck

• Talent

• Hard work

You can't control the first two, but you have to acknowledge they have in impact. Luck has played a huge role in my success. Talent has, as well. For instance, I learn things relatively quickly and tend to see things at higher levels of abstraction than many people. This makes it easier for me, compared with some people, to spot underlying causes and explanations for things.

That said, I also spend a lot more time working than most people. I'm not recommending that as a course of action; I'm merely stating that as a fact. For instance, why am I answering this question at all? Why did I build this AMA site so others can see previous responses I've sent to people? It's not because I think I'm going to get something out of it... but I do think it reflects my general initiative to try new things, to take everything another 10% higher than default.

When it comes to staying on top of things, I've often strived to join the strongest teams that'll accept me. This maximizes the chances I'll work with amazing people, which in turn is often the fastest way to learn.