What I have learned from individual athletic competition is that the person who wins is usually the person who is willing to sacrifice the most in order to win

What I have learned from individual athletic competition is that the person who wins is usually the person who is willing to sacrifice the most in order to win - free time, hobbies, family and social relationships, health. I think that's probably true for anything. This is only possible for something that is a deeply held passion. At the same time, by making an inviolable commitment to myself that I was going to enter a certain competition, and accepting as a given that I would be making certain sacrifices in my social and personal life from the training effort required, it made that commitment into something that I just did, without thinking about whether it was something I wanted to do at that moment. And removing that decision, that "do I really want to do this chore?", it's possible to have the consistency of effort necessary for performance at an elite level. So I think it's valuable advice, to say start small, attempt surmountable obstacles, and develop the habit of consistent practice. And I think it's valuable to let people know that if they have an ambition to be an "iconic computer person", they will have to make large sacrifices. I know that I'm not willing to sacrifice everything else in my life for programming. And I'm alright with that. But I don't criticize the people who have the drive to spend 15-18 on their passion. It's certainly not advice that's widely applicable, though.