Absolutely true. I think people who are really successful end up giving pretty bad advice about success sometimes. They say "be yourself" and "just do what you love."

The thing is, if you push yourself to become great, you have to become a person who is great. Once you achieve those dreams, that successful person is who you are, so those people who say that aren't lying. It is who they are, but that doesn't mean they started out that way. It doesn't mean everyone is bound for greatness no matter who they are. You have to become that great person, then you can be yourself and find success.

As far as doing what you love, people who become great at something will undoubtedly love it. Does everyone love doing math? Unlikely. Would people enjoy being a CEO of a revolutionary tech company with fame and brand value? Absolutely. That's a total dream job. I'm sure the person who has that job is really passionate about it and loves what they do. That doesn't mean they loved what they did when they had to study math to get into the career path that led to being a CEO. It doesn't mean they didn't have to work at jobs they didn't love along the way. Planning to pursue a job that you love is important, but you'll never get where you want to go if you aren't willing to do some unpleasant things along the way.

Anyways, great post! It's a point of view that is unfortunately hard to find these days.