I understand. Stopped planting seeds in the hundreds several years ago. Age is one of the reasons I am now so fussy about what I spend my time on. Happy Birthday.
Never give up.
You may not see the final bonsai from some of these trees but you can still have a red hot go at getting it as far as you can. Even if you don't see the final results, someone else will thank you for your efforts.
Unfortunately there's not many shortcuts in bonsai. Trees still stick to the yearly growing cycles no matter how much we wish it was different.