DeeTee, a truely inspirational posting from your good self. Almost bought tears to my eyes to hear that so many people who have made it went to hell and back to get there, which is how it's feeling for me at the moment. Like you say, it's the regret thing later on in life that I don't want to face. At least if you give it a go and fail you can hold your head up high knowing you tried rather than taking the easy option by staying in a dead end job that pays well.
McGee, you're not tool old. Go for it!
MB