Experience is what you get when you did not get what you wanted.

Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.
They are there to stop the people who do not want it badly enough
They are there to stop "the other people"

Randy Pausch

If you want to watch and listen to a lecture by professor of CMU Computer Science that will teach you things way beyond realms of software engineering, check this video.

It is long - over 1:45 hour, but worth every minute. It will make you stop and think ....