I always wanted to be a scientist. I'm a professor now for more than a decade. How? Every day, move things forward. It's doesn't have to be much, but it has to be every day. That's how I got in shape, too. And how I learned another language. Every day, just a little progress.
Most of my friends who dropped out of graduate school couldn't keep that momentum and discipline.
Very interesting read! I liked the blog posts on Inversion of Control that you linked to even more. Thanks for sharing.