"Champions don't blame the tools they've been given. Champions sharpen them." Abraham Lincoln once wrote that if he had six hours to cut down a tree, he would spend the first four sharpening the axe. It doesn't matter where you started, or even where you've been. All that matters is two questions; "Where do you want to go?" and "How hard are you willing to work to get there?" Everyone does. The separation comes down to who is willing to do the work. Never whine. Never complain. Never make excuses.