"It is spineless to think you cannot outdo a maestro after watching or listening to him. A maestro is also but human being, as are you. If you consider in what way you are inferior and make your mind up to study the art, then you are ready to master it, too. Confucious was a sage when he set his heart on studying at the age of 15. He did not become a sage due to his later studies."
- Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Excerpt from Book 1 of the Hagakure
We are but we are but we are.