A meaningful goal + clarity on how to achieve it + a real deadline closing in = the greatest nootropic stack known to man - Dan Koe

Signs you're on the right track:

Work energizes you
Learning doesn't take effort
Discipline doesn't need to be forced
You think in decades, not days
You're excited to wake up

You relate to very few people, but the relationships you do form are irreplaceable.

Stress is great for brute-forcing mindless tasks, but it absolutely destroys your ability to think spatially. It destroys your creativity, which is the one thing that will give you a competitive advantage over everyone optimizing for productivity.

Collective mental energy is what creates modern power. From the bottom up, key pillars of the external world's structure are fueled by unconscious attention, intention, and will.