So, it's remarkable how much changes over the years.
There was a time when my ambitions drove me to want credit, to claim glory, in anything I could in any way show my involvement. I needed people to see that I was responsible for things. Indeed, I used to use that as the example for what motivated me in software. That scratchy clip at the end of the "X-Files" was my touchstone: "I made this!" says the little boy's voice.
Somehow, though, after years of startups and products, coding to managing and back to coding, things changed.
Now I'm far more excited by the accomplishments of those around me. It means more to me when someone that I've mentored, or affected in some way, succeeds and does well. I can see the threads of ideas we've woven together. I can see the blooming of seeds planted. And I rejoice in those successes.
No striving or clawing... it's more fulfilling rejoicing in my friends and colleagues.