This is really good advice, and I love to hear stories about people pushing themselves. You remind me of a passage from Niccolo Machiavelli's 'The Prince':

And he will do what prudent archers do when the place they wish to hit appears very distant: knowing the strength of their bow, they aim much higher than the target they want to hit, not in order to reach such a height with their arrow, but with the aid of such a high aim to be able to hit their target.

Though I personally view 'success' as a relativity, pushing your limits is the only way to find yourself. Great read @sidwrites!