ASk HN : How would you plan the smart way

Hi All! I have been reading all exciting stuff about start ups. To be honest I am not the best CS geek given the fact that i didn't take my courses seriously in school and not the best in coding. All these can be over come by practice. Since I am on visa I really don't have that much flexibility in terms of what I choose to work and where I work.Right now the stuff i don't enjoy a bit.More than money, I want to make something that really helpful to common people.My past interest were serious gaming and environmental issues.So my question to people of hacker community : Given my student visa status, still waiting to get job visa (down votes expected :)) how should I plan my career ,so I can have my own product rolling down the line 5 years(Its just a dummy time frame I have in my mind). Also would appreciate if any body who has been successful to pull it off in spite off huge odds they had, give inspiring stories.