"...but what the hell is wrong with people that they take their job so seriously that they'd personally harass the people who run a newsletter that's critical of the company they work for?
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I think this is the level of obsession and craziness that makes people successful. I read quite a few biographies and it seems to me that a lot of famous or super successful people are very willing to do bad stuff if someone gets in their way. they want to win at all cost.
I suspect you read quite a few biographies and liked that a few of them are sociopaths, identified with them, and you want to use that to justify sociopathic behavior under the guise of "it's what successful people do and I want to be successful".
I think this is the level of obsession and craziness that makes people successful. I read quite a few biographies and it seems to me that a lot of famous or super successful people are very willing to do bad stuff if someone gets in their way. they want to win at all cost.