It comes down to caring enough to do it right. You have to love it and be a pedant who pays stringent attention to detail. You can be smart and motivated but un

It comes down to caring enough to do it right. You have to love it and be a pedant who pays stringent attention to detail. You can be smart and motivated but unless you really want to know why and how it all works and fits together it's hard to excel. That type of person will always be reading and writing code and solving problems. Spare time and work time all blurs if you are focused on a problem.