Perspective is everything. A friend of mine back in high school and university got his private pilot’s license while he was still in high school. To us, having to study/do everything on Mach Tuck’s list in addition to our regular drudgery of high school was something we considered onerous; and to use your own phrase, we couldn’t see jumping all the hurdles that stood in his way. But not our friend. Like us, he considered high school to be a necessary evil, but he thrived on everything he had to learn in order to fly, happily jumping over the hurdles as they arose. So I guess it’s all a matter of perspective.