For a long time, I certainly took full credit for my success. I became a lawyer, an expert in the rules that govern the game, worked at Apple in its heyday, and then helped build a highly successful startup at Claris. All that convinced me that I could determine my own fate. It was at GO that I finally realized there were forces at work far larger than anything I, or anyone else, could control. Riding the highs and lows long enough, never being able to see beyond the next peak or the next valley, makes one realize there is only one element in life under our control—our own excellence.
