The most important thing, as I see it, is that you have connected with the self-realization of doing great things. That is precious.

Most people don't ever wake up to this fact ( that we all have this capability ).
Our culture instills fear on all fronts to undermine this.
It prefers quiet complacent followers to sacrificial gadfly leaders.

But with greatness comes great sacrifice.
One day you will wake up with a vision for such an “application” of greatness which you will want to share with the world for its betterment.

Write that shit down.

Got immediate responsibilities? Shit we all do.
Get pragmatic. GrowthHack your situation.
Ideally find the right job/culture that either has a great collection of people you can learn from or projects which can hone those skills you will need to leverage later for your vision.

Your vision can be nurtured as a seed within the largest corporate office parks.
While you are plugging away at your daily grind, take time every day to learn what parts of your corp experience can be leveraged into your newfound vision. Perhaps it’s a product growth process or some efficient OOP architecture..whatever..put it in the toolbox.

Test the vision.
Network. Make crazy connections. Have conversations with your colleagues about your (hypothetical) idea. You will notice they would much rather small talk brainstorm about that than actually work. Take notes.

Life is not linear. Its not perfect. But your vision and passion is infinite. Keep beating the drum.
It will get you through the tough times.

(Watch : http://www.ted.com/talks/larry_smith_why_you_will_fail_to_ha...)

Personally.. I deal with this everyday.
Im about to turn 40! I should be an internet retirement home in Florida by now.

I grew up in NYC and rode the internet bubble..always working for various agencies and a few startups. One day I said fuck it..I'm tired of the rat race and want to craft my own perfect SaaS.

I was 32, a bit frightened, used to my expensive NYC lifestyle, had crazy ccard debt and was still paying off grad-school loans.

But I didn't want to live with the 'what if'.

How could I pull off the 6-month runway i needed to create my perfection?
I moved to Argentina - where I found my dollar had 3x the buying power - and was able to stay in the same time zone with my existing clients in NYC. (most didn't even knew I left )

>> Fast fwd 8 yrs later..
I’m on my 3rd startup.
But now I have a co-founder wife and 2yr old that keep my ass in check.

Everyday is brutal.. it’s slow going ( since we are bootstrapped and split time between consulting) and on the toughest days I do think about just ejecting and going back to a cushy golden-handcuff job..especially now that my family needs stability...and I dream of a good night's sleep.

But then there are those days when I'm user-testing..and get to watch people come to life with the dormant creativity which our platform has re-awakened deep inside. Or when a random VC calls to say "I really love what you are doing..let's keep in touch".. That’s when it’s all worth it.

It’s when you are faced with death at your throat - and have your family in your corner - that greatness truly has a chance to blossom.

I have a few more rounds left in me. But regardless I will never have regrets; instead I’ve got one hell of a story, family, and mvp to be proud of.

So do your good work quietly, laugh everyday… water your seeds....
and one day they will sprout, young man.