Factor-X, your post makes it pretty clear who overcame the obstacles.
Flying isnt hard, paying for it is hard.
Agree with you clunk1001, paying for training is the hardest part. But if we really want it then I'm sure we will find ways to make it happen like I did.
And yes alot of credit has to go to my dad for funding a huge chunk of my flight training, practically all of it. However one thing that I learned from the old man is perseverance and to be proactive.
He said to me one day: "son, yours is what you have in your pockets. Stop thinking with my pockets (his money) and start thinking about your own pockets."
The point I was trying to make by mentioning that I started working a call center gig (which is my current job) is that unless you go to college (which I did once I started working) then flight training on its own will not give you any really marketable skills.
Before flight training I had 2 years of college but no degree. So when I was out there on the job market I had aviation industry specific training but nothing that could give me a decent paying job in the aviation industry or in any other industry either. So the only jobs available to me were "customer service jobs."
Its also really ackward to submit a resume and list pilot ratings for something totally unrelated. As a matter of fact my current employer was reluctant to give me a chance. He said "why are you applying for a job here if the airport is right across the street" and "are you sure you will be happy here?"
So needless to say I had to explain in detail my current situation for that moment in time, and after stopping to think about it the guy shook my hand and told me to come in next monday for new hire training.
I've learned alot from this experience, and while I was away from flying I decided to go back to college to complete a degree, I decided for a 4 year degree in "Transportation & Logistics Engineering". So far I've completed my freshman year. Logistics is a pretty huge field down here in Panama City, Panama.
So the thing I learned is that there will be ups and there will be downs, you never know when life will take an unexpected turn on you, we just have to roll with the punches, smile and look at things on the bright side, even though some situations are extremely difficult and very painful to digest.
If something should happen like the airline or company you're flying for shuts down for whatever reason, or suddenly you fail a medical test and you cannot fly anymore then you really want to have something to fall back on. I can just imagine how difficult it must be for someone who only knows how to take an airplane from point A to point B not to be able to do it anymore.