The key to success is being relentlessly resourceful.

Everything else is fluff people make up to make themselves feel good about the path they chose or assign meaning to random events.

Read the above a few times until it sinks in. Give it a couple of days, then read it again. If it doesn't set things straight, try this:

  1. The effort applied must be adequate for the goal - 
     both in scope and direction. Neither excess nor dearth
     are virtues.

  2. Determining what is adequate is just as important
     as is the execution itself, and must have adequate
     effort put into it.

  3. Determining the goals worth pursuing is again equally
     important.

  4. The first three items are actually one and same item
     applied recursively. Recursion does not end at three
     items.

  5. The first three items are ongoing processes, not
     accomplishments that can get "done". They must have 
     time and resources allocated and artifacts defined and 
     tracked.

  6. When starting a task, always pop up a level above and 
     ask yourself if what you do makes sense. "Bottom-up"
     validation.

  7. Periodically unwind all recursion layers, then roll 
     them forward again and make sure they still make sense.
     "Top-down" validation must be performed with adequate
     frequency.

  8. You don't know most things you will need to know to 
     succeed. Determine the important unknowns and put 
     adequate effort into reducing uncertainty.
     The iteration lenght must be adequate to the relevant
     timeframes.