I get this so often from people around me.

Yes, I’m really lucky to do what I love and love what I do, indeed. But…I consciously chose to make little steps over the past 5-10 years to do what I do today and it requires quite a lot of commitment, perseverance and sacrifice, beyond all the ‘fairy tale’.

Mark Manson’s blog post resonates a lot with this topic from my point of view:
“Who you are is defined by the values you are willing to struggle for.

This is not a call for willpower or “grit”. This is not another admonishment of “no pain, no gain.

This is the most simple and basic component of life: our struggles determine our successes.
So choose your struggles wisely, my friend.”

/Mark Manson: The most important question of your life/