Freak?

Something I have been mulling over in recent months.

As I've looked at people like Condi and Mary J, read Freakonomics and thought about stuff... I keep asking what makes a person change? What makes someone decide to go for it?
Now obviously I have views on the spiritual side of things in terms of God changing your life, but that is not specifically what I am talking about now. I'm thinking more along the lines of how we respond to life.

So for example... I am convinced that Mary J isn't the only girl from the projects with raw talent. But what made her look beyond her circumstances and reach for something different? Why and how did she choose not to be defined by the expectations of the world around her? How did Condi's parents look at a segregated world and choose to look beyond it?

There are umpteen examples of people who defy the odds, defy society's definition of them, the limitations around them and somehow work it and overcome. And yet there are many, many more standing by their side who have dreams, talents, ideas that end up nowhere, unable to change, to do what it takes to get there. What's the difference?

I'm sure there are many factors - friends, family, environment etc must all form part of the supporting cast. But let's stick with the protagonist for a moment longer. What's going on on the inside ?Ruthless ambition, desperation, selfishness, a rather positive thinker, self belief? Maybe its focus, or emotional intelligence. Perhaps all of the above.
Freakonomics has this bit about the role incentives play in some of our life choices. But lots of people have incentives to make changes but don't, can't.
Whatever it is, it must be incredibly motivating to sustain them as they go against the tide of cultural expectations and many naysayers they pass on the journey.

And then when they arrive at their destination, it must take a lot to stay there, get comfortable in their new position. I think that for me that would be one of the biggest challenges - how to motivate yourself when there is nothing left to prove, fight for. How to simply stop and enjoy the view.
Or when faced with a new battle, a new frontier in life, how to get the energy to get up and fight again. Life is not so desparate, perhaps you are not so ambitious, but to get where you want to it will still require something beyond your current norm. Do you settle for where you are? Is that a bad thing? Or do you go for the new frontier. Maybe the stakes ( the incentive) aren't as high, but that frontier still adds something to your life...
I wonder if you can convert that motivation, that emotion, that thing into a discipline, a lifestyle.

The life defining moments of my teens and twenties seemed far more obvious; stark choices, clear sacrifices. They even felt more dramatic.The odd bout of lonliness when you choose education over hanging out and having fun, choosing an unexpected career path against all advice, the choice to walk away from a relationship or two with a broken heart rather than stay and hope for a change. Everything felt like a make or break, even if it wasn't.

Now its seems more blurry. Not quite so dramatic. But the frontiers are still there. Will I settle or move forward? Nonetheless, recently I've found myself searching for that emotion again, that motivation, that inexplicable thing that takes a deep breath and insists on going forward, taking another frontier no matter what the cost.
Kind of freaky....