Whether or not your values are operational is crucially determined by whether or not there are consequences for noncompliance.

Don't get stampeded by what people around you value. The task is to figure out what YOU value - and value highly enough to throw yourself into with unqualified passion.

Success comes from doing what you enjoy. If you don't enjoy it, how can it be called success?

Whether or not your values are operational is crucially determined by whether or not there are consequences for noncompliance.

The noble path does win but only if you are prepared to make the investment over a long period of time.

Left untended, knowledge and skill, like all assets, depreciate in value surprisingly quickly.

No one can manage you if you don't give them permission to do so. But if you are interested in accomplishing as much as you are capable of, then I believe there are good reasons to grant that permission.