rotatejunkie,
Nicely said. I have to agree on most of your points. Although one needs to be realistic, being positive you already won half the battle.
It is human nature to always look at the negative side of things. There are plenty of success stories but no one likes to mention them. Ever heard of a low hour guy who just graduated, slot his resume at the office door because it was closed when he went down. Got a call not long for a 320 job.
Anything is possible, one just have to firstly be Positive, Willing to do anything for the dream and lastly try to source for the best path towards the goal.
Cheers!