Nothing makes you question the value of hard work like landing a dream job in a cut-throat industry. For a couple of years after coming on board, I was prone to periodically pinching myself, and when I was confident that I was indeed awake, and no longer in front of a laptop researching the requirements for food stamps, I attributed my improved fortune to my impenetrable work ethic.

Of course, that wasn't even close to the complete story. Sure, I worked hard, impossibly hard. But more importantly, I worked strategically. In fact, getting ahead requires learning how to do LESS work -- how to cut corners, how to delegate, how to cheat the system.

It also requires access to resources. If I weren't able to score Adderall and enroll in therapy when I had, there's no way that I could have summoned the energy and clarity of mind necessary to make smart choices. I know, because in the previous few years before I secured Adderall, I was floundering, working hard but making fuzzy-headed decisions that left me financially unstable.

I also benefited from access to capital. After college, I was only able to participate in several resume-boosting unpaid internships by taking out a loan. In those instances, my ability to pay rent (and go into debt) was more important than my willingness to work hard.

Now that I've exceeded my own expectations, I question whether hard work deserves the pedestal I've put it on. I'm disillusioned about hard work not only because it is overrated -- newspaper journalists work just as hard as advertising copywriters but end up with less pay -- but also because it is poisonous. I don't think there is anything noble about a lack of work-life balance or a company that works its employees into the ground. The game is rigged. And the road to the victory is paved with death.