How did you become someone who succeeds academically and professionally when it didn't come naturally?

I'm asking this because I feel like I'm always behind my peers intellectually, even though I'm very ambitious.

I have a lot of goals. I want to earn good grades, land competitive internships, eventually get great job opportunities, and work on projects outside of class that I'm genuinely excited about. The problem is that I struggle to process information quickly, stay organized, and consistently turn my ideas into action. It often feels like everyone else is able to learn faster, think more clearly, and manage everything better than I can.

For those of you who started out struggling but eventually became successful academically or professionally:

• What changed for you?
• Did you actually become "smarter," or did you just develop better systems and habits?
• How did you learn to think through difficult material more effectively?
• How did you catch up to classmates who seemed naturally ahead?
• What habits, routines, or mindset shifts made the biggest difference?

I'm not looking for shortcuts or empty motivation. I'm looking for practical advice from people who've been in a similar position and managed to build the skills needed to succeed.

I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences, especially if you went from feeling overwhelmed or behind to becoming someone who earned strong grades, secured good internships, or started building meaningful projects.