Are you sure about it? I think that before the industrialization people had only very vague concepts of work efficiency. Before the pocket watch was introduced,

Are you sure about it? I think that before the industrialization people had only very vague concepts of work efficiency. Before the pocket watch was introduced, people could have had only a very vague idea of the time, especially when not in hearing-range of the church bells. Units produced per worker per minute? Not happening on a farm. You literally worked for the MAN, a servant, and lived much more in a collective as we could stomach today. Individually going out and "making it"? Not realistic. Things were slow. Harvest would happen in a few months, your market was local and expanding a business unrealistic in many cases. Travel was super slow and dangerous. Society was restricted in many ways. Wars, fires, famines could happen anytime and destroy everything you had. Work was usually physically hard, and food might be scarce, and you better not get ill or injured, right? Are you sure putting in 150% would be wise under these circumstances? But I'm curious if you've some other aspects I am missing, particularly anything authentic from literature describing the ambitious, hard working people you have in mind.