"What are the Benefits, besides me investing a sh*tload of my time, with no guarantees?"

My answer to that is that there are no guarantees in life....

When you asked that beautiful girl to become your wife, there were no guarantees that she would say "Yes!"
When you went for that promotion at work, there were no guarantees you would get it.
When you climbed that mountain ridge to scout for signs of that trophy deer, bull elk, etc...there are no guarantees that you would find the trail....
When you tried that new path in life, unsure of every step, there were no guarantees it would work out either....