I'd like to see that too. Those would probably be far more useful examples to compare to the plethora of "he stuck it through and was awesome later". I think there are lots of people that get stuck in the equivalent of "I'm a waiter now, but just waiting for my big break" sort of thing for decades in acting/music/startup thing.

I find these type of stories to be useless, because it doesn't separate the difference between "those that stuck to it and made it" and those that "stuck to it and mired in limbo" While both luck and skills play into it, a lot of people lean too heavily on luck and not enough time developing their skills. I think it's important to be persistent, but persistent so you get better at what you do. Be undeniably good, so all it takes is a little luck, not a lot of luck.

Ironically, there's a demotivational poster that says "If all it takes is a pretty picture and a cute little saying to inspire you, then your job is what robots will be doing soon. Real soon."