I don't like drugs. XD

But I'm a nerd. I've been rolaplaying for decades. Which means that I read about lots of unrelated topics. Apparently, some drugs were used to get "visions" that some "spiritual guides" used for "discoveries". How much is selfsuggestion and how much the mind going rogue? who knows? But even now there are people who use drugs to get that "alteration of conscience".

Philip K.Dick, one of my favorite sci-fi writers used to consume drugs. And writers like Byron did the same. So is not that wild association. XD

The thing is that while some people made discoveries by being taken to the extreme. Some inventions and discoveries are the result of "day to day" work. I mean, some astrophysicist work for months observing the sky in the hopes to see something new. And then paleontology started with a woman who collected fossils (Mary Anning). She had a boring life and made discoveries because fossils were more interesting than staying home.

As For the addiction part, Adrenaline and endomorphisms are adictive. That is why some people are addicted to sports.

My point is that there are many ways for people to create, discover and invent. By focusing on one type of paths, you might be losing on the others. If you tell children that there is only "one way", you might be taken them from other way that might work best for them.

By the way, focusing on competition for boys, might work badly if they aren't the competitive type. They might feel they are "not good enough" and just give up for fear of failure. It pays to listen to boys and teenagers about their dreams and fears.

Not all people is cut by the same pattern and there is more than one way to achieve goals. You need to be open minded and listen to them, then offer them advice or tools, but let them decide what feels right for them (within reason, I would object to the drugs XD).