My brief story....
At 35 and unmarried, left the fire service in march 2006 with a PPL (70 hours on a PA38) and some money from a house remortgage. Did all the courses requiried. Module student. Earned money when I could doing part-time work.
Now, 2 years later I`ve got the job I want flying a 737-800 and earning some good money.
As Yoda would say "do, or do not, there is no try"
Hope this helps
Steve.