The restraint is admirable. She's improved so much already. "Break it down into pieces. Take some time to really think about what you want to do, and what you'll need to get to that, and what you'll need to get to those, and so on. Then pick one thing at the bottom and work on that first."

She takes another sip of her soda and watches the waitress moving around the room out of the corner of her eye. "You're smart, and you're good at making plans. I'm sure you can do this, if you let yourself."