You’re tougher than you think you are. You can work longer than you think you can work.

You can keep trying a few more times before you’re all out of ideas.

You can think harder than you’re thinking right now.

You can figure out a way to fix your financial problems no matter how troubling they are.

You can lose weight this time even though you have struggled to do it all those other times in the past.

You can learn more about what you’re already an expert in. Don’t let the battle beat you down.

Stop talking yourself out of doing what needs to be done before you even get to the point where you’re out of options.

THAT IS JUST FEAR AND PANIC TAKING OVER. AND IT USUALLY ISN’T FOR YOUR BENEFIT.

Talking yourself out of a stressful situation before you even get started is a recipe for never getting started at all.

When challenges arise and problems seem insurmountable, your challenge is not to have all the solutions all the time, it’s just to remind yourself that no matter the obstacle in your way, you are tough enough to figure it out.

You’re strong enough to keep trying. You’re tenacious and determined enough to do whatever it takes.

That won’t change the size or scariness the obstacle in your way, but it will remind you about the most important part of being successful.

IF YOU CAN TOUGH IT OUT YOU’LL FIGURE IT OUT.

I know first-hand the power of that.

I’m not a gifted intellectual – or a business savant. But by putting in the work, I have figured out what works.

It is a process that keeps on giving value — to everyone with which I engage.

Here are a few of those lessons that I have learned. Maybe they will help you figure it out, while you’re toughing it out.

1. The people in your life always end up mattering more than the amount of money you have in your bank account. But more effort into the people you claim to love the most.
2. The critics in your life aren’t there to give you a logical and helpful path towards success. They want to destroy you — or at least hold you back until your dream is destroyed. 
3. There is a difference between having an idea and doing whatever it takes to turn that idea into success. Be an effort person — not an idea person. If you can be both, do it.
4. You won’t be able to listen to other people’s negative opinions about you for long and still remain motivated. Avoid negativity like the plague that it is. Anything that brings you down is the enemy of awesome.
5. Usually, the biggest difference between success and failure is that small detail you didn’t think really mattered. Pay attention to the tiny details that you can use as leverage to level up
6. You won’t even know how to begin to work smart until you’ve exhausted all your options for working hard. Stop trying to make the perfect decision and just take the first step.
7. Time has a perfect track record of righting all wrongs and rewarding those who deserve it most. Don’t let yourself get stressed out by a lack of fairness. They will get what is coming to them. So will you.
8. You can spend your time fighting for other people to think you’re awesome or you can just do the work to be awesome. The short term solution feels good for a short while. The long term play is legendary.
9. Being passive aggressive is a guaranteed shortcut to living a life that is as unsuccessful as it is uninspired. If you feel something, say something. Be candid. Be kind. You can do both at the same time.
10. The best way to make massive amounts of money is to deliver massive amounts of value to those who need it most. Think first about what other people get out of their interactions with you.
11. There isn’t much in your life that isn’t completely within your control to change right now if you want to. You are, in truth, the master of your destiny — for good or bad or crazy. Blaming others is a waste of time.

Life comes at you fast. Failure seems scary. The path forward can be cloudy and gray. 

Just remember that with enough time you will figure it out. So tough it out until then.