Well according to my mother, I used to sit happily on the washing machine and fly.(Still do!!). One of the first words that I learned was helicopter.
I didn't start flying full time until I was 29 - it took me that long to get enough money together and to realise a change in career was necessary.
What keeps me going? That's hard to say really. I have the opportunity to fly in an area of huge diversity, from the ocean to the desert, so the scenery is fantastic. There's nothing quite like having 100 mile visibility and being over the mountains in the desert, but watching the sun set over the ocean.
I can't really think of a time when I've thought 'Im glad I've stuck with this'. There have been more cases I think where I've done something and thought 'You idiot, what are you doing?'. That's the great thing: every flight is different. You never stop learning, and if you do then that's the time to quit.
I think my biggest satisfaction so far has been teaching others to fly. Especially that moment when you first see a student after they land and are now a certified pilot. The first time I say 'look no hands', so they are hovering.......the first solo.....
I think one of my proudest moments though was having taught someone to fly and he and his wife paid for me to go to Bell School in Texas as a 'graduation gift.' It seemed to make that long uphill struggle worthwhile.
You'll never find me sitting in an office doing nine to five - my office has a tinge of Jet-A to it, and long may it stay so.