I think the biggest thing was that they learned they could do it. There's a huge boost in confidence when you can pull off something like that. One is considering quitting his cushy office job and becoming a carpenter. He doesn't feel like he needs the safety net anymore.

That was my take on the original article too — it's important to have personal goals. That might be "getting to gold in SC2" but it could also be "survive a solo backpacking trip". The point is there's more too life than working.