1) You are right, having a mission definitely kept me on track. It also gave me peace. The moment I decided to start learning about technology, I felt confidence. I knew that one day I will leave the mediocre jobs and be part of this new field. This thought alone gave me confidence when I went to job interviews. During the interview with Genentech I remember thinking about some html code that I just learned and how I want to go home and learn more. Having an alternative made me a more confident job candidate.
My hobby is learning foreign languages, I like learning something new every day. So when I noticed that this is part of every tech position, I decided that it is closer to what I need, even if it is not the perfect match.
I did question whether I am cut out for this many times, but I had nothing to lose. If I was coming from a career field that I loved I might have felt otherwise.
2) I was learning Chinese at the end of the day to compensate for not learning anything at work. I was studying on my own, mainly with Rosetta Stone and grammar books. It was an on and off process and I did feel burned out sometimes. Recently I had lost motivation, especially since I am much happier at work. So I joined my first Mandarin class to get a new direction and see where I am. It is intermediate level and everyone in the class is much better than me, because they have lived in China for 1 year. So I have a lot to learn still but I would say that during the first nine months I laid a pretty good foundation.
3) I am not good with time management myself, which is why it took me so long to enter this field. I find the study groups I attend very helpful with this. Check out meetup.com for your area and search for a topic of interest. Find the right study group which will allow you to learn on your pace, yet require your dedication. When you are surrounded with people who are also on a mission, it motivates you. Even better if you share the same mission.
I wouldn't necessarily put getting corrective eye surgery on the same level of achievement as an overweight person losing the weight, but good message nonetheless.