Nobody sees the years of construction when they compliment the finished building.

People meet the finished version and reasonably assume it appeared that way. The years of unglamorous effort, the false starts, the parts that were rebuilt three times, none of it is visible in the result. That invisibility is worth remembering in both directions, when you are admired and when you are admiring.

When someone else’s success looks effortless, assume a construction period you cannot see. And when your own work goes unrecognized, remember that unseen is the normal condition of building, not a sign that nothing is happening.