Saying 'no' or even 'stop' is the hallmark of the professional you want on your team.
Getting picked is fine if it happens to you. But it's not a plan. It's a version of waiting and hoping.
Great work is always shunned at first.
No one is as smart as all of us.
Your audacious life goals are fabulous. We're proud of you for having them. But it's possible that those goals are designed to distract you from the thing that's really frightening you--the shift in daily habits that would mean a re-invention of how you see yourself.
We have little choice but to move beyond quality and seek remarkable, connected, and new. Remarkable, as you've already figured out, demands initiative.