Admittedly I have not yet read LOTR, though it's on my list, however, what I have gathered from this thread is that Gandalf is some kind of lesser, immortal god. As awesome as that may seem... how amazing is it really to be an eternal, almost-all powerful being, as opposed to being a normal, mortal human being who through his own dedication and determination became the greatest sorcerer the world has ever known?
It's like the difference between being born into money, and being born poor and becoming filthy rich all on your own.