Successful people of HN, what's your secret?
What do you do, that has allowed you to find success? I purposely avoided defining "success". I am more curious about how people get what they want out of life, whatever that might be.
Then you try to align your life with goals that will help you reach your version of success. If you want to be independent from an employer you have to work on a side hustle. Which likely means a job with a flexible schedule or shorter hours to have the time for it.
If you want to be high ranking in a company, you'll either have to start your own company or find a job at a company big enough with room to grow, then work your ass off to impress people and network there.
I also think that aiming high is good, but being willing to accept a slightly lower ceiling is smart. A good measure of success imo is whether or not you're happy. Setting a too-high bar is a surefire way to never be happy.