You'll see in a post on how long it took to solo... I went 14 years bringing home bags of balsa (well usually just something relatively minor broke... but always something broke) every time I went to fly.

No one was quite as blunt with me about needing to not be overconfident... and to fly something that was within my capabilities.

If being blunt saves you from breaking as much balsa, it wass worth what it took to get the point across.