Champion the Challenges

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. ~Robert Schuller

No matter where you go in life, or what your goals and dreams are, you will be faced with many challenges. How you respond to those challenges will determine how fulfilled, happy, and prosperous you will be. As I always tell people, life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it. It is absolutely imperative that we anchor ourselves firmly to our dreams and goals and learn how to weather the storms of life.

Pushing forward when faced with tough situations is crucial to taking your life to the next level. Too often we allow ourselves to be turned around at the first sight of adversity. The first obstacle encountered, most are oh too ready to retreat and accept failure. The first thing you must do; is change how you view life’s challenges! Keep in mind that life’s difficulties are but opportunities to acquire the skills needed to take your life to the next level. With every success story ever written, a whole laundry list of obstacles and setbacks came with it. Ultimately success came to those who remained focused on their goal, determined, and were “tough” enough to stay the course.

In thinking about persevering through the tough times, I am reminded of the movie The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith. This movie was based on the inspirational true story of Chris Garner, a San Francisco salesman who was struggling to make ends meet. He was left to raise his 5-year old son alone when his girlfriend walked out. Chris’ determination pays off when he lands an unpaid internship in a brutally competitive stockbroker-training program, where only one in twenty interns would make the cut. Faced with eviction from their apartment, Chris Gardner was forced to sleep on the streets, in homeless shelters and even behind the locked doors of a metro station bathroom. Chris Gardner triumphantly “hung tough” to rise above his obstacles to become a Wall Street legend.

Chris Gardner’s story however remarkable is also common among successful people. The details of their stories may be vastly different but the underlying formula for their success is the same. They exhibited tremendous determination and focus on the desired goal. They also displayed the same resiliency to continue to get up and fight for what they wanted when life knocked them down. Ask yourself, what are you willing to “hang tough“ for?

Ken Brown is one of America’s most inspiring, insightful life coaches, motivational speakers, entrepreneurs and authors of the 21st century.  If you’re ready to change your life and make your dreams a reality visit www.KenBrownInternational.com.