Like step over people? Screw the ones who love me? Be unethical? Ignore other parts of my life?
Plus, who said that (a) I know what I want, (b) what I want is good for me (c) what I want is good for society in general, anyway?
Not to mention that the whole premise is BS. As if by knowing this "secret" will help anybody.
A regression to miracle cures and snake oil medicine for the modern age, if there ever was one.
Point is, if one is not willing to do whatever it takes, he probably doesn't really want to do the said thing, but rather tries to live up to social expectations.
Well, not wanting to, say, sacrifice your loved ones for something or play dirty to get it, doesn't mean you don't want it. It just means you are a moral guy, instead of a ruthless jerk.
I want a new car, but I'm not willing to steal to buy one --even if I have some scheme by which I would not get caught. I'd rather work and find my way to pay for it. That doesn't mean I don't want it.
You define your 'want'. Based on your comment, you are setting your sights too low.
Instead of 'I want a fancy car', try 'I want to obtain a fancy car in the fastest way legally possible while staying within social bounds and not hurting anyone.'
Most people have quite a lot of room for action before these even become options. The point is to stay determined, focused, with unwavering attention. Your morality will tend to take care of itself. If you run into a conflict between getting ahead and doing the right thing, do the right thing.
Morality is fine, but it tends to take care of itself. When you start making moral mistakes that's a whole different problem. Worrying about morality when you're stuck is like worrying about gas mileage when your car doesn't have an engine.
If that's what it takes. It's a matter of how far you're willing to go for success. For some people, being an honest, loving, and caring person is important. But if you want to succeed like Steve Jobs, you'd better be prepared to do the good and the bad.
You can't ethically defend advice like that. You can be driven and assertive and still maintain boundaries on the morality of your behavior.
To find another, possibly riskier, way if these prove unacceptable (as they should). The point is to not give up.
Then who is making those decisions for you?
There's definitely no reason to believe that any individual is always an expert of his own life.