Is the pic relevant because the person who took the photo was charming, or paid well, or had biceps?
One thing that drives me crazy is people who complain about something, ask for advice, you work out a plan together... and then you see them again and they rationalized their way into not fixing anything. I had some close friends like that, and once I worked out that they liked the attention more than the fixing, I had to give them away.
I'd agree that all the super driven people I know are driven by insecurities... and that totally works. My partner is a ridiculously driven musician, she works crazy hard at it, way harder than I've ever worked at anything, and it's all because her parents told her when she was 18 that music was not worth the risk. Her relationship with her parents is honestly amazing, and they're incredibly supportive... but she still carries that little nugget around because it keeps her working when she'd rather be couching it up.
Of course, insecurities should start to eclipse once the ball is rolling. But I agree, the hyper-successful people have a HUGE wavy, salted chip on their shoulders.
(Oooof, people who don't follow the advice they've asked for are kinda doom. Spot on example. Interesting thing is, asking for advice and then showing the adviser results, is the highway to earn respect!)
It totally is... when someone gives me good advice, I'll pretty much break my neck to get it all sorted before I see them next.... because of my own insecurities about wasting other people's time.