"I can't afford it."
That sentence has ended more dreams than it should have.
Money is a real problem. I'm not pretending otherwise. But we reach for that sentence early. Before looking for anything free. Before asking anyone. Before checking whether the thing is actually blocked or just expensive on the first route we found.
A student told me that after trying to learn cybersecurity. He'd found some paid courses, couldn't afford them, stopped.
That was it. Not because cybersecurity was out of reach. Because the first door he tried had a price on it.
No free resources. No PDF books. No communities. He never asked anyone.
Just: "I can't afford it."
So he quit.
You hit one obstacle and start treating it like the end of the road. Usually it isn't. You just stopped looking.
And the fastest way past most obstacles is asking.
No one figures it out alone. I certainly didn't. Most of what I know came from other people. Teachers. Books. Mentors. Friends. People online I've never met.
Ask when you're confused. Ask when you're stuck. Ask when you don't know where to start.
You'll stay stuck far longer than you need to if you stop asking.
Don't.