The great things in life never come easily. If you dream of a great career or a great life, don’t kid yourself into thinking that they’ll happen tomorrow when you wake up.

They will happen, but only if you work for them. They’ll happen only if you put in the hours of care and the countless good decisions that will make them happen.

If you want an easy ride, be prepared to be average. If you want something more, be prepared to work for it and be patient for the results.

The success you want – the success truly worth having – doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years to make a mountain of debt go away. Years. It takes years to put your career on a track that you want it to be on. Countless choices. Countless projects. Countless decisions to not spend money. Years and years of them.

Yet, there is success on the other side.