"Whenever I compared myself to people similar to me, it wasn’t even close. I worked more, accomplished more, produced more, did more meaningful things, was traveling the world. I read more books, did more writing, was generally healthier and more disciplined, spent my time well. I was the top 1% for my age, and even better than that if you measured me against people from similar backgrounds."
http://www.sebastianmarshall.com/the-weakest-of-the-great-me...
Wow, he's really on a roll with his Nov 17th post too: http://www.sebastianmarshall.com/an-open-letter-to-simon-and...
In this case, I just got the feeling from reading his posts that OP has a very VERY strong bias towards comparing and measuring up to other people; and he is extremely focused on success and achievements in what feels to me like an unnaturally extreme way. Quite a few of his posts focus on nothing but that and all together just feels unhealthy and un-natural to me. That's the distinction I see to "just" being VERY motivated vs. being "driven". Being a work-a-holic by definition is an unhealthy behavior and there could be a whole bunch of reasons why people slip into that.
Like I said, it is nothing but armchair psychology - but the possibility that certain psychological issues could actually end up benefitting your career or success (or even success with women) is pretty much undisputed. Not all flight mechanisms or addictions have to be to very obvious substances. Work and success and being praised can be very powerful and toxic.
His ambition is all about being better than others.
Healthy ambition is an ambition to create something beautiful, to help people, to deliver the total solution, to live up to your own standards and values.
Unhealthy ambition is to dominate other, to be superior, to make the most money, to look the best, to constantly compare yourself to others.
People who constantly compare themselves to others usually do have inferiority complexes.