The ability to work hard seems to be even more talent-based than being smart. Executive functions [1] are supposed to be highly heritable, more so than the intelligence [2].
One of the guys I went to grad school with a was just an obsessive worker. He was the kind of person who could not sleep if a problem was left unsolved. I remember thinking that it would take more effort for him to work as (relatively) little as I did, than for me to work as hard as he did. He also finished a couple years earlier than most of the people we started with...
But is this enough to put you on the same level as people who naturally enjoy doing it? I don't think so.
There's a reason for the saying "you either like it or you don't". Forcing yourself to like something you naturally dislike (such as doing taxes) by doing it over and over again is more likely to make you hate it and stop doing it.
I realize that it is 2am and I’m exhausted physically so I should go to bed, but mentally I feel on fire.
>>I realize that it is 2am and I’m exhausted physically so I should go to bed, but mentally I feel on fire.
This doesn't happen to very many people.
It happened to me before all the time. But for some reason I can't do it any more. Now, I have to force myself. Does it mean I wasted my talent? I hope not. This laziness started when I took a year off from writing any code or doing any job and was just having fun with my friends I haven't seen a few years, travelling, etc.. I guess, the only way to get back on the track is to practice.
And I think that most people had this flow when they could work for 30h/day, if so to speak.
There's plenty of people that enjoy doing things but don't do it very well. Enjoying something helps you stick to it more, but it doesnt' make you better at it alone.
I think working hard is far more important than being smart or having a natural ability to code.
Ok so you may know a lot and pick things up quickly, what do you have to show for it?
I learned this lesson personally. I like learning about programming topics for the sake of learning but nobody cares what you know, they care what you've done with that knowledge.
